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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25614031">Anomaly</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/daydreamtofiction/pseuds/daydreamtofiction'>daydreamtofiction</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Anomaly [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Doctor Strange - Freeform, Drama, F/M, Marvel Cinematic Universe - Freeform, Marvel Universe, Other, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Doctor Strange (2016), Protective Avengers, Stephen Strange - Freeform, Superpowers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:06:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>32,555</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25614031</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/daydreamtofiction/pseuds/daydreamtofiction</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When a woman with mysterious powers turns up on the doorstep of 177A Bleecker Street, Dr Stephen Strange is determined to discover the truth behind who she is, why she's here, and most importantly, how she knows his name. </p><p>The answers he finds threaten to destroy everything he ever knew about time, space and sorcery. While the true identity of the mysterious woman threatens to destroy everything he ever knew about himself. </p><p>• Part One in the Anomaly series.<br/>• Takes place after Endgame.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Stephen Strange &amp; Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Anomaly [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2033041</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>257</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. One • Juno</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>New York City</em>
</p><p>People swarmed the streets like bees; huddled together as they crossed roads, running to hail cabs, brushing shoulders as they weaved past each other on the sidewalk. New York was home to thousands of lives and stories drowned out by the sounds of the city - no one paying attention, no one standing out.</p><p>A man pulled his car up on the side of a busy street before rifling through the pockets of his jeans and glancing in his rear view mirror to find the nearest parking meter. He counted the coins in his hand and opened the door, climbing out and closing it behind him with his foot. But after a couple of steps, a deafening crash knocked the wind from his chest, followed by the loud screeching of a car alarm. He turned around slowly, his mouth falling open as he laid eyes on his car.</p><p>It was crushed, the roof collapsed and contorted as if it were a piece of crumpled paper. Smoke billowed from the engine and the shattered headlights flashed as the alarm continued to blare. He took a step forward, his heart pounding as he laid eyes on a woman. She was lying on her back, completely still inside the cratered roof, as if she were a meteor fallen from space. He shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked up at the skyscrapers surrounding him, trying to figure out where she had fallen from.</p><p>Crowds began to form. Some screaming for help, some pointing their cameras, some backing up as if running for safety. Traffic halted; drivers climbed out of their cars as they called the police, while bus passengers pressed their faces against the windows with curiosity.</p><p>But the sound of the crowds changed when the destroyed car began to jerk and creak, and the fallen woman sat up, nursing the back of her head as if it were a hangover. She pushed herself up with shaking arms, climbing to her feet and standing on top of the car.</p><p>Her head was throbbing, her hands and arms burning as if pins had been driven through her skin. She was confused, the fog in her mind so thick that even the voice in her own her head was silenced. She looked down at the sea of people – the crowds forming on the sidewalks, the traffic halting in the road – and took a step forward, stopping suddenly when the people around her recoiled in fear.</p><p>"C-can... Can someone help me?" she asked feebly, letting her shaking legs carry her down onto the hood of the car.</p><p>People continued to retreat, while some screamed at her to stay away.</p><p>"Why?" she asked. "Why won't any of you help me?"</p><p>Suddenly, the faint sound of police sirens made her ears prick. She narrowed her eyes, straining to see the flashing blue lights in the distance, a barrage of police cars speeding towards the scene. She turned and took another step, feeling the metal caving in around her foot.</p><p>The crowd began to scream again. She looked down at them, cocking her head in confusion when a sudden intense pain travelled from the back of her neck down her spine. She clamped her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, the burning in her hands and arms growing stronger.</p><p>"This is the NYPD!" A voice bellowed through a megaphone. "Stay right where you are, do not move!"</p><p>"Please," she whimpered, reaching out her hand.</p><p>Then she saw it.</p><p>Her hand was glowing - a swirling golden matter surrounding it like a veil and travelling up her arm. She raised her other hand, flipping them over and examining them closely. Her heartbeat quickened as she turned around, looking at herself for the first time in the reflection of a store window. It wasn't just her arms. Her entire body was glowing, the light pulsing around her like a shield.</p><p>"What happened to me?" she muttered before turning back to the police officers as they climbed out of their cars. "I need help," she called out, taking another step forward.</p><p>The swarm of officers drew their guns as they approached her slowly.</p><p>"Where have you come from!?" one of them shouted.</p><p>"I don't..."</p><p>"Identify yourself! What is your purpose here on earth!?"</p><p>"My <em>purpose</em>? I'm not-"</p><p>"Stop moving or we will shoot!"</p><p>They began to close in on her. She could feel her heart racing, head throbbing, hands burning.</p><p>"Why won't you help me!?" she shouted, feeling another jolt of pain down her spine.</p><p>"I said stop moving or we will shoot!"</p><p>"I'm not a <em>threat</em>!"</p><p>She flung her arms in frustration as she spoke. Suddenly, every window of every building and vehicle shattered, exploding like ice rain into the street. People began to scream, shielding themselves from the shards flying through the air. Her breath hitched, her mouth falling open as she looked down at her hands again.</p><p>"I didn't mean that," she said.</p><p>But it was too late. The police began to open fire.</p><p>"Stop!" She screamed, shielding herself with her arms.</p><p>They continued to shoot at her, over and over again with an unrelenting tenacity. She could feel the anger in the pit of her stomach, the rage in her chest. The glow surrounding her began to intensify; thickening, growing stronger and brighter as if fuelled by her fury. Bullets were bouncing off her, ricocheting into the air and clattering to the ground.</p><p>She lowered her arms and turned to them. "I said <em>stop</em>!"</p><p>There was an eerie quiet as everything became still. She glared ahead at the police who had stopped, frozen in place and groaning in pain as if they were being held against their will. Their bullets hung in the air, mid-flight as if time itself had stopped. She took a long, deep breath, and with the slightest movement of her hands, every bullet, every officer and every police car flew back down the street in a large, powerful blast.</p><p>*</p><p>In the sanctum sanctorium, Doctor Stephen Strange sat at a table in the library. He raised his hand and curled his fingers beckoning a book from the shelf and leading it through the air until it settled in front of him. He opened it, fanning through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He held his arms out in front of him, inhaled deeply and followed the spell until it began to materialise from his hands.</p><p>A loud crash stole his attention and the spell evaporated, fizzling out and falling from the air like embers. He turned his head, furrowing his brow as he listened carefully. Another sound echoed through the building. He stood up quickly and rushed out of the library, exchanging his T-shirt and jeans for his sorcerer's uniform as he walked. He followed the sound towards the large front door, his cloak following behind and attaching itself to his back.</p><p>The doors had been broken through, swinging on their heavy hinges. He rushed down the stairs, stopping at the bottom when he saw a woman. She was glowing. The light fading in and out like a flickering bulb, her hands at her sides surrounded by the same yellow energy.</p><p>Their eyes met from across the room and in one, quick motion, he armed himself with his own power; discs of light from his closed fists. She raised her hands in defence, ready to fight back.</p><p>"Who are you?" he asked calmly.</p><p>"I... I don't know," she replied.</p><p>"Okay then, <em>what</em> are you?"</p><p>"I don't know."</p><p>"Why have you come here?"</p><p>"Look, I'm just going to save us both some time - every question you have for me, the answer is going to be 'I don't know'."</p><p>He paused for a moment, tightening his fists and making the discs larger. "I'd feel a lot more comfortable talking to you if you put down the glowing hands."</p><p>"I could say the same to you..."</p><p>He turned his head to the side, talking quietly to his cape. "Find Wong, have him alert the Avengers."</p><p>The cape whipped off his shoulders and soared up the stairs. The woman watched in amazement before fixing her gaze back on him.</p><p>"My name is Doctor Strange-"</p><p>"Stephen."</p><p>His eyes narrowed. "Yes... How do you know that?"</p><p>"I... I don't know. Something bad happened. I ran and I just... ended up here. It was like I was being drawn to this-"</p><p>A pain ran from the back of her neck to the base of her spine, like lava pouring down the side of a volcano. She let out a desperate, painful cry as bolts of energy exploded from her like a firework. Stephen blocked the blast and watched as she fell to her knees.</p><p>"I'm sorry, I can't control it," she said with a whimper. "Can you help me?"</p><p>*</p><p>Evening began to fall as neon lights and billboards illuminated the streets. Rain fell heavily, pelting the sidewalks and gathering in puddles as music poured from bars and traffic honked loudly in the busy roads. But inside the sanctum was quiet, as if it were tucked away and hidden - a secret pocket in the middle of the busy city.</p><p>She sat in a button-back leather armchair with her legs pressed to her chest, staring out the window as the rain speckled the glass. She wasn't glowing anymore. But she was tired. Exhausted - like a lightbulb with a burnt-out filament.</p><p>Stephen stepped into the room squinting through the dark. He pointed to a lamp in the corner and turned his hand until the light came on.</p><p>She glanced at the lamp. "That's a cool trick," she said plainly.</p><p>"Thanks..."</p><p>He sat in a chair opposite her, crossing one leg over the other. She looked up at him. It was the first time he'd taken a moment to really look at her - she was his age, perhaps a few years younger, slender and nimble, with green eyes speckled with gold.</p><p>"So, what are you?" she asked as she eyed the rich, red cloak cascading from his shoulders.</p><p>"I'm a mystic. A sorcerer."</p><p>"Is that what <em>I</em> am?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Oh... So what am I then?"</p><p>"That's what we're going to try and figure out."</p><p>"Who's 'we'?"</p><p>"They're not here yet."</p><p>They sat in silence for a while. He spread his fingers apart and closed them into a fist, ready to defend himself if she tried to attack.</p><p>"People were scared of me," she said quietly. "I didn't understand why."</p><p>"Maybe it had something to do with how you were able to rip through an entire squad of police with the flick of your wrists..."</p><p>"I didn't <em>mean</em> to. They were- wait, how did you know that?"</p><p>"It's on the news. They're calling you an 'intergalactic threat.'"</p><p>"<em>Intergalactic</em>?"</p><p>"Well you fell from the sky so it's not a ridiculous claim."</p><p>She sighed. "I don't know what I am, but this," she held up her hand and watched as it began to glow. "This doesn't feel like it's supposed to be a part of me."</p><p>He sat quietly for a moment before standing up. "You should rest. Follow me, I'll show you to a room."</p><p>The light around her hand faded to nothing. "You're letting me stay here?"</p><p>"If you'd rather wander the streets until the authorities find you then by all means-"</p><p>She scrambled to her feet. "No, no. I just... I don't know how many people would be willing to accommodate a strange woman who broke their door down in the middle of the afternoon."</p><p>"Mm. Then it's a good job <em>strange</em> is something I'm accustomed to."</p><p>She followed him upstairs, stopping to look around at the artefacts that lined every wall. The large house felt more like a museum than a home, the hallways endless, the rooms empty and quiet.</p><p>"Do you live here alone?" she asked.</p><p>"Mm." He shook his head. "Wong should be around somewhere."</p><p>"Who's Wong?"</p><p>"He's a protector of this sanctum."</p><p>"It must be lonely; two people living in such a big place."</p><p>"We're never too far from the other masters - Magic doors. Fun, isn't it," he said sarcastically.</p><p>"Were you born... Magic?"</p><p>"I was trained," he began, stopping in front of a large door. "At a temple called Kamar-Taj in Kathmandu."</p><p>He opened the door and stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter. She stepped past him, her arm brushing against his for just a moment. She looked around the room; at the perfectly made bed and shiny mahogany furniture. It was clear no one had ever slept in there, at least not for a long time.</p><p>"I put an old t-shirt of mine on the side there," said Stephen. "I thought you'd prefer that over something like this," he gestured to his own attire.</p><p>"She picked it up and unfolded it, looking at the logo on the chest. "So you <em>do</em> wear regular clothes..."</p><p>He allowed a slight laugh and rested his hand on the door knob. "Rest," he said as he began to close the door.</p><p>"Stephen?"</p><p>"Dr Strange."</p><p>"Sorry, right, Dr Strange. Thank you, for helping me."</p><p>"Just... Try and keep the powers switched off, for now?"</p><p>She nodded, waiting for him to close the door before peeling off her clothes and pulling the t-shirt over her head.</p><p>*</p><p>"We're losing her!" a voice echoed through the darkness.</p><p>She tried to open her eyes, seeing bright flashes of white light passing over her head.</p><p>"Stay with us, Juno," said the voice.</p><p>She tried to look around but she couldn't move. She couldn't feel her legs, couldn't speak. The only sensation was a searing pain travelling down her spine.</p><p>Everything went black again. She tried to scream but her mouth stayed shut. There were voices everywhere, shouting over each other as they prodded her with sharp instruments and dragged her around like a rag doll.</p><p>"How is she not dead yet?" someone said.</p><p>"Come on, Juno," another person cried.</p><p>"There's no time, I have to do it now."</p><p>She felt a cold slice on the back of her neck and finally, a bloodcurdling scream forced its way out of her throat.</p><p>She opened her eyes, looking around in panic at the quiet, safe bedroom. The door swung open. Stephen and Wong rushed into the room, fists armed with discs of magic. Stephen looked down at the woman as she lay in bed. His eyes widened as he realised her body had burned through it all. Through the pillows, the blankets, the mattress.</p><p>He stepped forward as plumes of smoke began to rise from the wooden bed frame, raising his hands and creating a sparkling ring of light above it. A gush of water fell through the open portal, extinguishing the fire and drenching the terrified woman.</p><p>She rolled onto her front, propping herself up on her hands and knees as she coughed and spluttered, spitting out water and hyperventilating.</p><p>"What happened!?" said Stephen.</p><p>"I don't know," she cried. "Something bad. Something really bad. So much... <em>pain!</em>"</p><p>Her body gave off a burst of energy, causing the two men to shield their faces. Her short hair was soaking wet and sticking to her face as she leaned forward, and as Stephen lowered his arm from his eyes, he noticed something on the back of her neck.</p><p>"What the heck is that?" he muttered.</p><p>"I know my name," she said between heavy breaths, the light around her beginning to fade. "I remember my name."</p><p>Stephen narrowed his eyes and took a cautious step closer.</p><p>"It's Juno. My name is Juno," she continued. "Did you hear me? I said my name is Juno."</p><p>"Yeah that's great, hi Juno, can you stop moving for a second?" he replied rudely.</p><p>He crouched beside the bed and took her face in his hands. She looked up at him, their eyes meeting in a mix of fear and curiosity. He turned her head to the side, peering over her to the glowing  lump in her neck.</p><p>"Hold on a second," he said. "Is that..."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Two • Stone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The armchair by the window had become a safe place. Juno's damp hair had been slicked back out of her face, and the T-shirt she had borrowed was still wet, clinging uncomfortably to her body as she sat gazing out at the full moon in the pitch black sky.</p><p>Wong stood nearby watching her awkwardly. He shifted on his feet and cleared his throat.</p><p>"Would you... like some tea?"</p><p>She looked up at him. "Uh, no. No, that's okay, thank you."</p><p>The room fell silent again.</p><p>"Sorry about the water," he added.</p><p>She looked down at herself and nodded. "Better than burning the place down, I suppose."</p><p>A bright portal began to materialise in the middle of the room. Juno squinted as the ring of sparks expanded to the height of the ceiling. Stephen walked through the portal followed by a group of people, each one eyeing her suspiciously as they stepped into the room.</p><p>Juno's brows came together at the sight of a towering green creature, her eyes growing wide when it began to speak with a clear, calm voice.</p><p>"I thought you said she glowed?"</p><p>"It's still a little unpredictable," Stephen replied.</p><p>"I'm sorry, what's happening here?" asked Juno as her eyes darted across the faces in front of her.</p><p>"We're the Avengers..." said the creature. He gestured to himself. "The Hulk?"</p><p>She shook her head. "Sorry, I don't- Should I know what that means?"</p><p>"Wow, that's one way to crush a guy's ego."</p><p>An older man with tired eyes stepped forward, folding his arms as he spoke. "So, you're the one that's been causing all the trouble, huh?"</p><p>"<em>Accidentally</em>..."</p><p>"Accident or not, you got a lot of people looking for you. They think you're dangerous."</p><p>"She <em>is</em> dangerous," a voice chimed in from the back.</p><p>The group parted to make way for a young woman with long, ginger hair. It was as if Juno could feel her emotions; the fear, the apprehension.</p><p>"She's being powered by the mind stone," the woman continued. "I felt it as soon as I walked in here."</p><p>"That's impossible," one of them replied.</p><p>She extended her hand as her eyes turned red, her fingers beginning to glow with the same scarlet energy. Juno's eyes glazed over with a golden light as they rolled back in her head. She let out a pained groan as the thing in her neck began to throb like a beating heart.</p><p>"Wanda, that's enough," said the older man. "Wanda!"</p><p>Wanda's eyes returned to normal. She dropped her hand to her side, a look of hatred on her face.</p><p>"What did you just do to me?" asked Juno as she panted to catch her breath.</p><p>"That stone is what gave me my powers. Its energy lives inside of me."</p><p>"So in a weird way, that makes me like... your mom." She gave an awkward laugh.</p><p>"No, it doesn't."</p><p>"Okay," she nodded to herself. "Clearly not the time for jokes."</p><p>Wanda walked away, pacing back and forth on the other side of the room.</p><p>"The stone is a sensitive subject for her," said the Hulk. "It used to be... in her boyfriend."</p><p>"Used to be? So what happened? How did you get it out?"</p><p>"She destroyed it."</p><p>"Oh... Well then how is it-"</p><p>"We went back in time and got it."</p><p>"Back in <em>time</em>?"</p><p>"Yeah, you blew up a New York street with your bare hands but time travel is far fetched."</p><p>She dropped her gaze to her lap, twisting the wet material of her T-shirt.</p><p>"None of this explains how it got <em>there</em>," said another man as he pointed to her neck.</p><p>They all looked at her, waiting for her to explain.</p><p>"I- I don't know. I don't remember anything."</p><p>Stephen turned to the group, speaking calmly. "We need your help. Can you all stay?"</p><p>They nodded.</p><p>"Thank you." He looked down at Juno. "Come with me."</p><p>She followed him out of the room and up the stairs. She could feel his tension as if it were her own, like his racing thoughts were loud enough for both of them to hear.</p><p>He led her into a room and pointed to a door.</p><p>"There's a shower through there. Fresh clothes on the side," he said.</p><p>"Thank you."</p><p>She walked into the bathroom and gripped the hem of the T-shirt, lifting it over her head and throwing it onto the floor. Stephen stood in the doorway, his eyes fixed on the stone glowing on the back of her neck.</p><p>Juno turned around, looking him up and down with an almost-smirk. "Are you checking me out?"</p><p>"No?"</p><p>"Because wouldn't that go against the whole celibacy thing?"</p><p>"I wasn't checking you- Wait, what makes you think I'm celibate?"</p><p>"Well didn't you take like a vow or something when you became... this?"</p><p>He stared at her for a second. "That's monks..."</p><p>"Oh. Monks." She looked up at the shower and raised an eyebrow. "Well in that case-"</p><p>He was gone.</p><p>She pressed her lips into a straight line before turning the dial on the wall and letting the water run.</p><p>*</p><p>Downstairs in the sanctum, the Avengers waited for Doctor Strange's return. They were dressed in their casual clothes, some mismatched after being pulled from their sleep.</p><p>Rhodey, Sam and Wanda sat on a leather couch talking quietly, while Bruce tried to fit his enormous frame into an armchair nearby.</p><p>"I don't trust her," said Wanda.</p><p>"You think she has ulterior motives?" asked Sam.</p><p>"I don't know what I think. But what I know is that no human would be able to touch an infinity stone, let alone walk around with it buried under their skin."</p><p>"Do you think she's from another planet?"</p><p>"No she's definitely human," said Bruce. "But Wanda's right, the stone didn't get there by itself. And whoever put it there clearly had a plan to use her for something."</p><p>"We need to find out who she is. Maybe once we know more about her, we'll have the answer to why she's here," said Rhodey.</p><p>"Unfortunately not," Stephen interrupted as he walked back into the room.</p><p>He had exchanged his cloak and boots for a hoodie and jeans, pushing his hands into his pockets as he stood in the archway.</p><p>"I know who she is," he said. "And it's only made things more complicated."</p><p>"How do you know?"</p><p>He sighed. "When she turned up here, she called me Stephen. She had no idea who she was or what was happening to her, yet somehow she knew my name and where to find me. When I heard that she literally fell out of thin air, I wondered if she could have fallen through a tear in reality. I thought if she knew my name then maybe it was possible that in another timeline, I knew her too, and I'd find the answer to who she was."</p><p>...</p><p>Juno stood in the shower, letting the water run onto her face when the conversation downstairs began to fade in and out. She tipped her head back, trying to listen, when suddenly she realised. Their voices were in her head, her mind tapping into their conversation like a radio, and the harder she concentrated, the clearer the voices became.</p><p><em>"So while she was sleeping, I searched for her." </em>She heard Stephen say.</p><p>
  <em>"Searched for her? Like... wizard computer?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p>He rolled his eyes. "Not quite."</p><p>They watched as he opened a small portal, reached inside and pulled out the Eye of Agamotto - a brass-coloured pendant on a leather rope. He put it around his neck and cast a spell, opening it up and drawing out the bright green time stone hidden inside.</p><p>"This gives me the ability to see infinite timelines. It's what I did before Thanos snapped his fingers, it's how I knew what version of reality we had to be in to<em> win."</em></p><p>"So you searched for her in... other timelines?" asked Rhodey, his eyebrow raised sceptically.</p><p>"I looked for her," he nodded. "In every timeline, every dimension, every version of reality." He put the stone away and closed the pendant. "She doesn't exist."</p><p>"Doesn't exist? So she's... not real?"</p><p>"She doesn't exist at <em>this point </em>in time. So I went back further, and I found her. She's human. But her life ends - at the exact same moment in the exact same way in every version of time and reality. Except for one."</p><p>"And in the one where she's alive, did you find out who she was?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"Well, who was she?"</p><p>...</p><p>
  <em>"She was... my wife."</em>
</p><p>Juno's mouth fell open in a mix of shock and confusion. She crouched down as the water continued to pour, listening closely.</p><p>
  <em>"What!?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Your wife?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p>Sam stood up, waving his hands and almost laughing. "Hold on, hold on, hold on, so... You're telling me this woman fell through a crack in time and space, somehow gaining <em>superpowers</em> along the way, and turned up at your door all because you were <em>married</em> in another life?"</p><p>"I'm leaning towards the idea that it's not that simple," replied Stephen. "You see, marrying her meant that I never got in the car accident that destroyed my hands. Which meant that I never travelled to Kathmandu, never met the Ancient One, never became a sorcerer. You see where I'm going here?"</p><p>"Are you saying that in any timeline where she survives, Thanos wins?" asked Wanda.</p><p>"Yes. Which is why she's not supposed to be here. That one timeline shouldn't exist. It's a glitch, an anomaly."</p><p>"I want to see it." Juno's voice came from behind Stephen.</p><p>He turned to see her standing there - hair wet, eyes wide - wearing another one of his T-shirts and pair of sweats that were too big for her.</p><p>"Juno," he sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were listening."</p><p>"This thing." She pointed to the stone in her neck. "Turns out it's also a great listening device."</p><p>"You could hear us?"</p><p>"It's the mind stone," said Wanda. "Her abilities are increasing."</p><p>Stephen shook his head. "There's no need for you to see. Nothing that I saw explains how you ended up here."</p><p>"You're telling me I was never supposed to exist." She stepped closer to him. "That I was supposed to die and I'm here right now because the universe made an <em>error</em>. I deserve to see what you saw. I deserve to see myself how I was supposed to be."</p><p>The room was silent. Everyone exchanged awkward glances.</p><p>"How would you even-"</p><p>"If this thing lets me hear things, then I think I can see them too. Please, can we at least try?"</p><p>They watched as he released the time stone again, sitting on the floor and crossing his legs. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly as the stone began to glow, surrounding him in streams of green light.</p><p>"Whoa," said Bruce as Stephen's body began to raise from the ground.</p><p>"What's happening to him?" asked Juno as she took a tentative step towards him, staring at his face as it stretched and skipped like he were on fast forward.</p><p>"Time is like a tree," said Wong. "With infinite branches. For him, this is taking hours, maybe days. For us, it's no more than a few minutes."</p><p>Stephen became still, his eyes closed, still in a trance.</p><p>"He has found you," said Wong.</p><p>Juno stepped forward and reached out her hand, and as her fingers connected with his forehead, everything went black.</p><p>She was falling. Falling through a never-ending sea of darkness, deeper and deeper until suddenly, she felt her body land on something. A hospital gurney, wheeling quickly through the halls of the ER.</p><p>Bright lights passed above her head, just like they had in her dream. People were calling her name, shouting to each other as they moved her back and forth. The pain was back, even the slightest nudge sent a fire down her spine. She tried to cry, but a woman stroked her head and placed an oxygen mask over her face.</p><p>"Stay with us," she said.</p><p>She woke up in a hospital room. It was quiet, the only sound coming from the steady beeps of the machines around her. She tried to sit up but something was holding her down.</p><p>"Nice to see you awake," said a familiar voice as the door opened.</p><p>"What happened to me?" she croaked.</p><p>He approached the side of her bed. It was Stephen; clean shaven, dark blue scrubs and a clip board in his hand.</p><p>"You were in a car accident," he replied. "Suffered a broken neck and almost complete severing of the spinal cord."</p><p>"Am I paralysed?"</p><p>"No," he laughed, his tone was almost arrogant. "If any other surgeon were on duty that night then who knows. But lucky for you, you got me."</p><p>She grumbled in discomfort at the equipment holding her head firmly in place.</p><p>"It was an experimental procedure," he continued. "One in a million chance you'd survive."</p><p>"Wow, so I really did get lucky, huh."</p><p>"I wouldn't have operated if I didn't know it'd be a success." He smiled at her.</p><p>She smiled back through the bruises and cuts that distorted her face.</p><p>Everything went black and she began to fall again. Eventually, she woke inside a moving car. She looked out the window as lights peppered the New York skyline.</p><p>"I know you don't enjoy these conferences," said Stephen as he sat beside her. He was dressed in a slick, well-fitted tuxedo. "But there are surgeons, experts, medical pioneers coming from all over the world just to see your recovery for themselves."</p><p>"Mm, people congratulating you while they view me like an exhibit," she replied. "I'm kinda starting to feel like Frankenstein."</p><p>"You mean 'the creature'. Frankenstein was the Doctor."</p><p>"No," she turned to look at him. "I meant Frankenstein."</p><p>He raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"I mean, clearly my survival has created a monster," she gestured to him.</p><p>His laugh was deep and throaty. "You're my best work."</p><p>"That's creepy," she whispered back.</p><p>He laughed again.</p><p>The car plummeted into darkness. She closed her eyes, opening them again moments later in a sleek, modern apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows.</p><p>The sound of footsteps approached her as she looked out at the city blanketed by the night sky. A hand rested on her hip. She looked up to see Stephen standing beside her.</p><p>"It's a beautiful view," she said.</p><p>He nodded as he looked out of the window. "I don't appreciate it enough."</p><p>They looked at each other, their faces coming together slowly, until finally their lips met. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck as his hands gripped her waist as they kissed.</p><p>She closed her eyes, her body melting into his, when the sound of applause erupted around them. She opened her eyes to see him smiling down at her. There was a flower pinned to his suit, a priest standing beside them and rows of elated guests rising to their feet. She looked down at herself, seeing the wedding dress clung to her body, and smiled, leaning in for another kiss.</p><p>When things went black again, she found herself disappointed; wishing she could go back to that moment. But suddenly, she felt a small hand take hers. She looked down to see a child at her side.</p><p>"Mommy can we go into the candy store?" the little girl asked.</p><p>"Maybe on the way back," she replied.</p><p>Ahead of them, she saw Stephen walking with a toddler in his arms. He turned around and smiled at them.</p><p>"Come on, slow pokes!" he shouted as he threw the little boy on his shoulders.</p><p>She laughed and continued walking hand-in-hand with their daughter. They crossed the road and followed them towards the entrance of central park. But a sound made her stop. She turned to see two cars smashing into each other. Further down the street, more cars began to crash, flipping over and driving into store windows. The air carried panicked screams, people crying and shouting for their friends and family. Juno watched as people began to disappear, slowly disintegrating into ash and blowing away in the breeze.</p><p>"What the..." she muttered to herself, feeling her heartbeat quickening. She turned around. "Stephen?" she ran towards the park, searching frantically for him and their son. "Stephen!?" They were gone, vanished like so many others around her.</p><p>"Mommy?"</p><p>She felt her daughter tugging on her hand. She tried to give her a reassuring squeeze, but instead, she felt her hand close around nothing. She looked down, but she was gone. The only thing that remained was a cloud of dust escaping from her closed fist.</p><p>Juno fell backwards, landing hard on the floor of the sanctum. Her breath was haggard, hands shaking, eyes welling up with tears. Within moments, Stephen fell to the ground beside her. He secured the time stone inside the eye and wiped the sweat from his brow.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Juno," he said through heavy breaths. "I told you there was no need for you to see."</p><p>She clambered to her feet. He stood up next to her, unsure of what to say to make it better.</p><p>"What did you see?" asked Bruce, his voice a stark reminder that they were not alone.</p><p>Juno turned around, her eyes flitting across their faces before running out of the room.</p><p>*</p><p>He tapped his knuckles against the open door and stepped inside. She was sitting on the edge of the scorched, wet bed, wiping at her eyes and sniffing sharply. He sat down beside her, rubbing his palms up and down his thighs as he tried desperately to think of something to say.</p><p>"How could I have been married to you and not remember?" she said softly.</p><p>"Because that wasn't you," he replied. "What you saw down there, that's a version of us that exists in an alternate reality. It never came to be."</p><p>"So why am I here now?"</p><p>"I still don't know."</p><p>She sighed, waiting a while before speaking again.</p><p>"What happened to you in the end, was that... Thanos?"</p><p>"Mhm."</p><p>"And the only way to stop that happening was for me to die?"</p><p>"Sounds harsh but yes."</p><p>"How did you feel? Seeing all of that?"</p><p>"First time it hurt. Second time, not so much."</p><p>She rolled her eyes at him. He instinctively reached over, taking her hand in his.</p><p>"We're going to figure this out," he said.</p><p>She looked down at his hand gripping hers and cleared her throat. "So... somewhere in another reality we were in love, huh?"</p><p>Their eyes met for a tense moment before Stephen raised an eyebrow. "Don't even think about it."</p><p>A loud smash from downstairs shook them both. They glanced in the direction of the door as more noises began to echo through the sanctum. The unmistakable sound of battle.</p><p>Stephen rushed out onto the landing. By the time he reached the top of the stairs, he had changed into his sorcerers robes, his cloak soaring through the air and settling on his shoulders.</p><p>He watched as Sam flew past his face, a set of mechanical wings adorning his back as he fought off a slimy, rabid creature. On the ground floor, Wanda and Wong battled a cluster of them, lifting them with their powers and slamming them into walls. Rhodey looked up at Stephen and ran up the stairs towards him.</p><p>"We have a problem," he said breathlessly as his heavy, metal suit began to build itself around him.</p><p>"Yeah, I can see that," Stephen replied sarcastically as Bruce crashed through the wall, fighting off more of the strange creatures. "How did they get in?"</p><p>"No one saw." His helmet closed over his face, the eyes lighting up as he flew off and joined the fight.</p><p>The cloak lifted Stephen off the ground, he glided down over the steps and ignited his powers. One of the creatures took notice of him. It was faceless and skeletal thin, letting out a piercing squeal as it bounded towards him. He swung his fist, taking its head clean off and feeling a spatter of cold fluid on his face. He narrowed his eyes and crouched down beside the decapitated body. It was a deep purple, wet and rippling like ectoplasm.</p><p>Another jumped on his back. He elbowed it off him and pivoted quickly, conjuring a large string of light from one hand to the other. He whipped it at the creature, sending it flying across the room and watching as Bruce slammed his fist into it with a splat.</p><p>Juno appeared at the top of the stairs. "What the..."</p><p>Suddenly, every creature stopped. Each one turning in her direction and letting out a deafening, collective screech.</p><p>"They're here for her!" Wanda shouted as every single one began to run up the stairs towards her.</p><p>Stephen spun his hands quickly, creating a portal beneath Juno's feet. She dropped into it, falling out of another one beside Bruce and landing on the floor with a thud.</p><p>"Take her to your headquarters!" Stephen shouted.</p><p>Bruce gave an understanding nod before scooping her up in his arms and running through a new portal.</p><p>*</p><p>"I imagined for a group called 'the avengers' you'd have a fancier place," said Juno as she looked around the small, basic lab.</p><p>"We had a pretty extensive HQ until Thanos destroyed it," Bruce replied as he tinkered with a machine.</p><p>"Oh. Sorry." She sat down on a stool. "So.. <em>hulk</em>?"</p><p>"You can call me Bruce."</p><p>"Bruce. How many of you <em>are</em> there?"</p><p>He blew out a puff of air. "Well, if you're including other galaxies... A lot."</p><p>"I guess that means there's also a lot of... <em>not </em>avengers."</p><p>"Bad guys?" he laughed. "Yeah."</p><p>"And that's what they think<em> I</em> am. A bad guy." </p><p>"I'd be lying if I said you didn't have every government agency looking for you right now." He looked down as the machine began to beep. "Okay, it's ready."</p><p>She lay down inside the machine and closed her eyes as thousands of needle-like lights began to scan her.</p><p>"How long do I have to lay here?" she asked.</p><p>"It'll take a while," he replied. "If Tony were still alive he could've probably built something that'd scan you in seconds."</p><p>"Who's Tony?"</p><p>"Oh my god."</p><p>*</p><p>Everyone stood around the machine looking worse for wear. They were covered in cuts and dirt, their eyes tired, clothes coated in the creatures' dark purple slime.</p><p>"The stone, it's charging her like a battery," said Bruce. "That's why her powers are getting stronger."</p><p>"So strong they seem to be attracting attention," said Rhodey. "What <em>were</em> those things?"</p><p>"I've never encountered them before," Stephen replied. "But I recognised their form, I've seen it in another dimension."</p><p>"Great, so we've got other dimensions after you too."</p><p>Juno glanced up at him from inside the machine before turning to Bruce. "Look, I don't know how this thing got inside of me but I don't want it there."</p><p>"It's not that simple," Bruce replied. "Infinity stones are too powerful for humans. How you're even alive right now is a mystery. The stone is just gonna charge and charge and charge until eventually, it'll be too much for you."</p><p>"So remove it," she said. "Didn't you say she destroyed it when it was in her boyfriend?"</p><p>Wanda nodded, her arms folded across her chest. "I did. It killed him."</p><p>"Oh."</p><p>"There has to be a way of getting it out without killing her," said Stephen.</p><p>Bruce mused for a moment, analysing the computer screens in front of him. "If we can block the charge of the stone for long enough, we could probably extract it."</p><p>"And how do we do that? Is there a machine or something?"</p><p>"Not yet. I can make one. But it's probably gonna take a while."</p><p>"In the meantime, we need to figure out how it got there in the first place," said Wanda.</p><p>Sam stepped forward. "Well the last person we know to have had the mind stone in their possession was Steve."</p><p>Rhodey furrowed his brow. "Cap?"</p><p>"Who's cap?" asked Juno.</p><p>"You think something went wrong when he was putting the stones back?" Rhodey continued.</p><p>"It's possible. But even if it's true that something went wrong, he put the mind stone back in 2012, that doesn't explain why she's shown up here now."</p><p>"Are you suggesting someone's messed with time? It's impossible."</p><p>Stephen looked down at the Eye of Agamotto, then across to Juno as she lay in the machine. "It's entirely possible."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Three • Ships</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Juno sat on a small couch with the Avengers standing around her as they watched the television. Rhodey flicked from one news channel to another, all of them reporting on the sighting of the strange woman with other-worldly powers.</p><p>'Officials say the woman is believed to be a threat from another planet,' said the reporter on screen.</p><p>He switched to another station where a news anchor sat behind a desk.</p><p>'The attack came yesterday afternoon, injuring many-'</p><p>He switched it again.</p><p>They watched as footage from the incident played out on screen; a shaky phone camera capturing her stepping down onto the hood of the car. It switched to another angle, someone filming from the window of a building as a blast shattered the glass and people ran for safety.</p><p>She averted her eyes as the others continued to watch. Rhodey switched channels again.</p><p>'It is unclear whether the attack is linked to the Avengers,' said the reporter. 'A source says the infamous team are working privately and in cooperation with the government to locate the woman the world is now calling: the biggest threat to New York since the intergalactic attack of 2012.'</p><p>"Alright, that's enough," said Sam, urging Rhodey to turn off the TV.</p><p>They looked down at Juno as she sat with her head in her hands, talking about her as if she wasn't there.</p><p>"She should stay here," said Sam. "We can keep her out of danger in case more of those <em>things</em> come."</p><p>"That's a good idea," replied Bruce. "Lay low until I can finish the extractor."</p><p>"I'm not staying here," she said as she looked up at them. Her eyes were becoming less green, the yellow flecks spreading like veins of gold across her irises. "I can't trust any of you."</p><p>"Wait, you can't trust <em>us</em>?" said Rhodey cynically.</p><p>She shook her head. "The reports are saying you're working with the government to capture me. How do I know this isn't some elaborate trap?"</p><p>Stephen stepped forward. "You can't believe everything you see on the news, Juno. I know these people, I trust them with my life. I <em>did</em> trust them with my life, And I trust them with yours."</p><p>"I want to go back to the sanctum with you," she insisted. "I feel safe there."</p><p>"It's not about where you <em>feel</em> safest," said Wanda. "It's where you actually <em>are</em> safest."</p><p>"Look, if anything goes wrong, he can do that sparkly thing and have me back here in seconds. It's practically like being a door away from each other."</p><p>Bruce sighed. "Yeah, it may be like a door when he's there. But what if he's not there? What would you do then?"</p><p>"Actually..." Stephen pondered for a moment.</p><p>*</p><p>They stood beside each other in front of three doors. Behind the first, Juno could see crashing waves and crisp white sand. The second was a night sky, the northern lights flashing like an oil slick amongst the stars. He pointed to the third.</p><p>"I'm going to set this door to lead straight to the Avenger's headquarters," he said.</p><p>She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"</p><p>He placed his fingers on the dial and turned it. She watched in awe as the images through the glass flickered quickly, changing from plush rainforests to busy streets. Eventually it stopped on the HQ lab. She peered through the glass, watching Bruce working on the machine. He was dancing around and singing to himself with a pair of modified headphones over his large, green ears. She opened the door. It was really there.</p><p>Bruce glanced up and let out a frightened yell. He pulled the headphones off and looked at them, his chest rising and falling quickly.</p><p>"Sorry," said Stephen. "As you were."</p><p>He closed the door. Juno stared up at him in amazement.</p><p>"The Rotunda of Gateways," he said. "Three doors that can take you anywhere on earth."</p><p>"This is a really, <em>really</em> cool house."</p><p>*</p><p>Juno stood at the large, circular window, looking out over the streets of New York below. She folded her arms across her chest, allowing her mind to wander back to the life Stephen had shown her. The way his hand felt on her waist, the way he smiled as they got married. She wondered about all the moments she didn't get to see, wishing she could go back and experience them too.</p><p>She looked up at the cloudy blue sky when suddenly, an image invaded her mind. Creatures. Creatures and flying ships descending from a hole in the sky. She felt a wave of panic, followed by a throbbing in the back of her neck.</p><p>She placed her hand over the stone and closed her eyes, breathing slowly and begging the flashbacks to stop. Flashbacks. He eyes sprung open and she gave a quiet gasp.</p><p>"Stephen?" she called out, turning her back on the window and hurrying down the stairs. "Stephen?"</p><p>She found him in the library, hurrying over and sitting opposite him at a table.</p><p>"I think I remembered something," she said.</p><p>He closed the book he was practicing with, sending it floating back to the shelf with a smooth hand motion.</p><p>"Go on?"</p><p>"There were things in the sky," she began. "They were destroying everything. People were screaming, buildings crumbling, cars crashing into each other..."</p><p>"Things in the sky?"</p><p>"Big ships. Space ships, I think, I don't know. And creatures that moved like they were swimming through the air. I was looking up at them and then suddenly... pain. Nothing but pain."</p><p>He took her to a room with a large stone table. She stood back, watching as he used his fingers to cast magic into the air above it. Orange sparks swirled around like constellations, finally coming together to form a familiar shape.</p><p>"Is this what you saw?" he asked.</p><p>She looked up at the creature he had conjured. It rippled and swayed in place, exactly like the one she had remembered.</p><p>She nodded.</p><p>He pointed up at it. "These things attacked New York City in 2012. People died, the world almost ended."</p><p>"What happened?"</p><p>"The Avengers happened. They saved us all."</p><p>"So... that's how I died," she said. "I got hurt in this attack."</p><p>"Looks that way," he replied, before waving his arm and watching the image of the creature melt away.</p><p>*</p><p>Stephen dressed himself in a t-shirt, jeans and a smart coat before slipping the eye of Agamotto around his neck and hiding it beneath his clothes. He stepped out of the room and jumped with fright at the sight of Juno standing there.</p><p>"Where are you going?" she asked.</p><p>"The hospital," he replied as he made his way downstairs. "I need to find out what timeline you're from. So I figured if there's a record of your death at the hospital-"</p><p>"Then I'm not from this reality," she finished as she followed behind.</p><p>"Exactly." He waved his finger at her, pivoting on his heels to face her. "Stay out of sight. Don't go in any room that isn't the kitchen, living room or your bedroom. Oh, and don't touch anything."</p><p>"Whoa, hold on a second... I'm coming with you."</p><p>He narrowed his eyes. "Did you uh, did you miss the part where you're the <em>most wanted</em> person on the planet right now? Have you forgotten the slimy, extra dimensional creatures that tried to kill us last night?"</p><p>"I can wear a disguise..."</p><p>"Juno."</p><p>Wong cleared his throat. They turned around to look at him as he stood nearby with a pile of clothes in his hands.</p><p>"These are for you," he said as he walked up to Juno and placed them in her arms. "I thought you might appreciate some... proper attire."</p><p>"Where did you get <em>women's </em>clothing?" asked Stephen.</p><p>"Kamar Taj," he replied. "When people come to train with us, they trade their regular clothes for robes. We have a whole room of stuff," he turned to Juno. "I just picked out what I thought would fit you."</p><p>She smiled. "Thank you, Wong."</p><p>She disappeared for a few minutes, leaving the two men bickering near the front door.</p><p>When she returned, she was wearing an old, knitted zip-up cardigan and jeans. She walked towards them and pulled a leather baker boy hat onto her head.</p><p>Stephen stared at her. "A hat. Your idea of disguise is a hat?"</p><p>"I like it," said Wong.</p><p>He rolled his eyes.</p><p>"If the disguise doesn't work, I could always try and get into people's heads instead," she said. "Erase their memories?"</p><p>She closed one eye and pointed at him as swirls of energy began to pour from her fingertip. Her eyes glowed gold, as if she were bewitched.</p><p>"Can you even do that?" asked Stephen sceptically.</p><p>The power ceased and her eyes stopped glowing. She dropped her hand to her side and shrugged.</p><p>"I don't know," she said. "It'd be cool if I could, though."</p><p>*</p><p>Christine Palmer stood at the front desk of the ER shuffling through papers. She handed one to the receptionist and smiled before tapping the others against the counter to straighten them. She turned to walk away but stopped suddenly, her eyes growing wide.</p><p>"Stephen?" she said breathlessly.</p><p>"Hi Christine," he smiled.</p><p>"Oh my god." She hurried towards him and pulled him into a hug, taking a step back and looking at him for a moment. "I tried to look for you after the Vanished came back."</p><p>"The Vanished?" asked Juno.</p><p>"The dusty people," Stephen replied.</p><p>"Ah."</p><p>Christine turned her attention to Juno, her eyebrows stitching together. She recognised her, but she couldn't put her finger on how.</p><p>"I need to ask you a favour," said Stephen.</p><p>"Oh no, you're not gonna turn into a ghost thing again, are you?"</p><p>"No," he laughed. "I need you to search through some records."</p><p>They began to feel eyes on them. Everywhere they looked, people were taking second glances and whispering to each other.</p><p>"Stephen..." Juno muttered. "The hat isn't working."</p><p>"Christine," he said quietly. "You need to get us somewhere private. Now."</p><p>She led them to a dark, quiet office and closed the door, leaning her back up against it.</p><p>"What's going on?" she asked.</p><p>"Can you access the records?" he replied, ignoring her concern.</p><p>"Y-yes, I can access the records but-" Suddenly, it clicked. Her mouth fell open as she looked at Juno. "You're... You're the woman from the news!" she was shouting, clutching her chest with panic.</p><p>"Hey, it's not what you think," said Stephen calmly. "You're safe, she's not gonna hurt you. I will explain everything, just please can you get into the records?"</p><p>She nodded gently, her eyes never leaving Juno as she walked over to the computer. She sat down at the desk and began to type.</p><p>"Is this something to do with your cult?" she asked.</p><p>"I told you, it's not a cult," he replied.</p><p>"First, you come in making holes in thin air, turning yourself invisible and flying around the place. Now, you come back with an alien friend."</p><p>Juno cleared her throat. "I'm actually <em>not</em> an alien. Possibly Inter-Dimensional, we're not sure. But definitely not an alien."</p><p>"Inter-<em>dimensional?</em> Oh god, now I really have heard it all."  The computer bleeped. "Alright, I'm in. What do you need?"</p><p>"I need you to check records from 2012 for a patient brought in with a broken neck and severed spinal cord."</p><p>"What's the name?"</p><p>"Juno."</p><p>"Juno... who?"</p><p>"We don't know her last name."</p><p>Christine sighed. "Okay." She began to type. "So... who's Juno?"</p><p>"I am."</p><p>She looked up at her and laughed. "What? Wait, hold on, a broken neck and severed spinal cord? There's no way you'd be walking around-"</p><p>"<em>I</em> was her surgeon," he said bluntly. "Or at least, I should've been."</p><p>"Should've been? I'm sorry but do you realise how crazy you sound?"</p><p>Juno pulled up a chair and sat down with a huff. "Time is like a tree, with lots of leaves- no, wait, branches. There are infinite versions of reality that run on different timelines, each one different depending on choices, events, all that stuff." She looked up at Stephen. "Am I explaining this right?"</p><p>"It'll do."</p><p>"In every reality, I die. Except for one. For some reason, in <em>one </em>reality he does the surgery and I survive, creating a new branch of time. In that branch, I survive, we fall in love, we get married, have babies and live happily ever after, until half the human population turns to confetti."</p><p>She felt a pang of disappointment at the idea of Stephen loving someone else. But swallowed the feeling quickly, shaking her head in confusion. "So why are you here?"</p><p>"That's why I need to see the records," said Stephen.</p><p>"Okay, okay." She tucked her hair behind her eyes and leaned closer to the screen. "2012?"</p><p>"Yes. During the invasion of New York."</p><p>They watched as she continued to type, furiously at first, but her fingers began to slow down. Until eventually, she was sitting quietly, staring at the computer.</p><p>"What? What is it?"</p><p>"There are no records from the day of the attack on our system," she replied. "At all."</p><p>"What?" He pushed her aside gently to see for himself. "How is this possible?"</p><p>"I-I'm not sure." She stood up. "It's impossible. Hundreds, if not thousands of people came through the ER that day. The city was like a bloodbath."</p><p>"Could someone have deleted them?"</p><p>"If they'd been deleted, they'd still show on the system, I just wouldn't be able to access them. But there's nothing here. It's like that day never existed."</p><p>The pager beeped on Christines waist. She glanced down at it and sighed. "I have to go," she said as she hurried towards the door. "You guys need to leave before someone finds you."</p><p>They waited a few minutes before slipping out of the office, glancing around before making their way down the corridor.</p><p>"Is that Stephen Strange?" a voice bellowed from behind them.</p><p>"Oh no," he exhaled before turning around with a fake smile. "Doctor West, long time no see."</p><p><em>'Nicodemus West'. </em>Juno heard Stephen's voice in her head. She glanced up at him - he was doing it on purpose, communicating to her with his thoughts. <em>'Rival surgeon. Hates me because I was always better than him. Stay calm.' </em></p><p>She watched the two men shake hands.</p><p>"I didn't expect to see you around here again... Nice beard," said West. "And who's this?"</p><p>Stephen looked down at her. "Uh, this is Juno. She's... my wife."</p><p>"I'm his wife."</p><p>They said it at exactly the same time, immediately putting an arm around each other and smiling.</p><p>"Wife? Wow, when did that happen?"</p><p>"Last year," they said unison.</p><p>"Intimate ceremony," Stephen finished.</p><p>"Oh, well congratulations."</p><p>Juno could tell he was suspicious of her, his eyes staying on her face for too long, as if he was trying to remember where he'd seen her.</p><p>"How, uh, how did the two of you meet?" he asked.</p><p>"She was my patient," Stephen replied. "One of the last ones before my accident."</p><p>"He saved my life," she smiled.</p><p>He narrowed his eyes. "I feel like I've met you before..."</p><p>Christine walked over to them with a clipboard in her hand. "Nick, what are you doing?"</p><p>"Just talking to my old friend Strange here and his new bride. Did you know he got married?"</p><p>She glanced at the two of them, then around at the other people beginning to recognise Juno.</p><p>"Of course I did, I was at the wedding," she said cheerfully. "Beautiful ceremony, very intimate. Nick, I need to talk to you about a patient that just came in..."</p><p>She dragged him away, glaring back at them, urging them to hurry.</p><p>"We have to get out of here. Now," said Stephen.</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"Because I was right, the hat is a terrible disguise. And there's a bunch of guys in suits coming straight for us."</p><p>She looked up to see them. Black suits, earpieces, guns on belts. She grabbed Stephen by the arms.</p><p>"Can you make one of your portal things?"</p><p>"Not here. Follow me."</p><p>They turned swiftly and began walking down the hall.</p><p>"Hey!" one of the men shouted.</p><p>"Just ignore them and keep walking," said Stephen.</p><p>"Hey, you! Stop!"</p><p>"What should I do? Should I use my powers to blast them or something?" she asked.</p><p>"In a <em>hospital?</em> Absolutely not."</p><p>They turned a corner, their shoes screeching against the floor as they stopped in their tracks. Another group of suited men were coming towards them.</p><p>"We're surrounded," she said.</p><p>"It's fine."</p><p>"No, it's not fine."</p><p>As her heart began to race, she could feel the burning in her hands growing stronger and travelling up her arms. The stone in the back of her neck sent a pain down her spine as her fingers ignited with glowing, golden matter.</p><p>"Juno, don't."</p><p>Her breath became shallow and quick; the closer the men came, the brighter her power burned. She was scared - the mind stone reacting to her fear.</p><p>Stephen knew there was only moments before she erupted. He had seen how destructive her powers could be and he couldn't let that happen here. He pulled out the eye of Agamotto and opened it with a quick spell. The time stone shone a bright green light from inside the pendant as he curved his fingers and moved his wrists. Then suddenly, everything paused.</p><p>Juno looked around at the people frozen in place, her powers slowly fading until they were gone. "Did you just... stop time?"</p><p>He reached in his pocket and pulled out a ring. He slipped it on his fingers and conjured a portal to the sanctum. "Go."</p><p>She stepped through it, watching in awe as he restarted time and ran through to join her, closing the portal quickly behind him.</p><p>"Do you see now," he said breathlessly, his voice laced with anger. "Why I told you to <em>stay here</em>!"</p><p>She jumped in fright at his loud, furious voice.</p><p>"I'm sorry, I..."</p><p>He stormed off. Leaving her standing alone in the large, empty foyer. She took off her hat, her eyes falling to floor.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Four • Mighty</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wanda stood with her arms folded, standing across the room from Juno. They were in a large hall at the back of the sanctum, with high ceilings and glossy wooden floors, light pouring from the tall windows either side of them.</p><p>Juno had been told to put on training clothes. Training for what? She didn't know. She was barefoot, shifting her weight from side to side as she waited nervously for her to speak.</p><p>"Doctor Strange invited me here because he thinks you need to learn how to control your powers," said Wanda, her voice echoing around the hall. "After your close call at the hospital yesterday, I'd say he's right."</p><p>Juno watched as she raised her arms, her hands and eyes glowing red. Suddenly, everything in the room slid towards the walls, leaving them with a wide, open training space.</p><p>"Light up your hands," said Wanda as she walked towards her. "Just your hands."</p><p>She curled her fists and closed her eyes. The burning began in her palms, slowly spreading to her fingertips.</p><p>"It hurts," she said quietly.</p><p>"You have to fight past it. Use the pain to focus the energy where you want it to be."</p><p>She ground her teeth, taking deep breaths as she tried to stop the glow from travelling up her arms.</p><p>"This energy," Wanda continued as she circled her slowly. "You need to know how to control it, no matter how strong it gets." She pointed to an old vase in the corner of the room, drawing it over to them in a cloud of red before settling it gently on the floor. "I want you to destroy this vase. Nothing else, just the vase."</p><p>"How?"</p><p>"Direct the pain you're feeling towards it. Concentrate."</p><p>Juno stared at the vase with glowing gold eyes, extending her arm slowly and holding up her palm. She thought about the chaos she had caused in the street; the shattering glass, screaming onlookers, police and their cars soaring backwards with the force of an explosion. She thought of the searing pins and needles in her arms, the bullets bouncing off her skin, the agony in her spine. It made her angry. It made her scared. But mostly, it made her feel mighty.</p><p>She sent a blast from her hand that smashed the vase into shards of shrapnel. A shockwave rippled out from it, travelling just far enough to make everything else in the room rattle and shake, as if an earthquake had hit.</p><p>Wanda stood beside her, the pair of them looking down at the plumes of smoke where the vase once stood. "Not bad," she said.</p><p>"I hope that wasn't a priceless antique," Juno replied.</p><p>They continued to work on controlling her powers for the rest of the morning; how to focus the light and push past the pain, how to control her emotions to stop fear and anger fuelling the stone.</p><p>"How do you feel?" asked Wanda as she looked out the window at the afternoon sun.</p><p>"Better," Juno replied. "It sounds weird but... I feel like I'm getting stronger."</p><p>"Well you are, that's the stone-"</p><p>"No, I mean stronger like..." she curled her slender arms as if she were showing off huge biceps. "<em>Stronger," </em>she grunted.</p><p>Wanda rolled her eyes. She placed her hands on her hips and returned to the centre of the room. "Alright, I think it's time to move on to the other stuff."</p><p>"Like the mind reading and stuff?"</p><p>She nodded. "Everything we've done so far, the light, the pain, the blasts. That's your body channeling the stone's <em>energy. </em>But the abilities you have, that's the stone's<em> power. </em>You need to learn to use them to your advantage."</p><p>"To my advantage? Like... against other people?"</p><p>"Yes. Until we're able to remove the stone, you need to learn how to defend yourself, maybe even others. Those things from the other night were here for you. If anything else comes, you need to be prepared."</p><p>She stood across the room and turned to face her, raising her fists and bending her knees slightly.</p><p>"What are you doing?" asked Juno, a hint of panic in her voice.</p><p>"You ready?"</p><p>"What!? I'm not... I'm not going to fight you!"</p><p>Wanda's eyes lit up red, she lowered her fists to her sides as they began to glow too. "Yes you are."</p><p>"No. I'm not-"</p><p>Suddenly, Juno's chest became tight and her entire body constricted as if it were being wrapped in chains. She felt herself rising from the ground, the tips of her toes grazing the wooden floor. Wanda moved her hands, sending her flying into the wall. She hit it hard and landed on the ground with a thud, gasping for the breath that had been knocked out of her lungs.</p><p>She clambered to her feet and turned around, her mouth falling open as she laid eyes on Wanda flying through the air towards her. She gasped and raised her hands in surrender, but it didn't stop the attack. Within moments, she found herself surrounded by streams of deep red energy that threw her to the ground again.</p><p>"Use your powers to fight back," said Wanda. "Come on, outsmart me."</p><p>"Can you give me a sec?" She panted.</p><p>"If someone wants to kill you, they're not gonna stop to let you catch your breath," she replied cynically before picking up a leather armchair and launching it towards her.</p><p>Juno covered her head with her arms and let out a scream. But the impact never came. She lowered her arms and opened her eyes to see the chair screeching across the floor away from her. She stood up and looked down at herself, noticing the glowing forcefield surrounding her body. In the air above her, Wanda lifted the chair again. She narrowed her eyes as she watched the way her fingers moved, how her energy wrapped itself around objects like a cloud. The chair came flying towards her. She held out her hand and mimicked Wanda's movements, concentrating on the chair and imagining herself controlling it. It stopped midair, the colour around it slowly changing from red to gold. She looked up at Wanda with an almost-smirk, and with the slightest flick of her fingers, the chair flew across the room and crashed into the wall.</p><p>Wanda lowered herself to the ground, her eyebrows furrowed with anger and confusion. "You just mimicked my power..."</p><p>Juno shrugged.</p><p>Suddenly, the fight recommenced. It was still one-sided; the scarlet witch attacking Juno with everything she could muster. She was backing her into corners, lifting her up and throwing her around like a doll, sending things flying towards her. Juno tried desperately to defend herself. Running away, conjuring forcefields, blowing things up before they hit her. But it was relentless.</p><p>Wanda backed her into another corner, sending wave after wave of scarlet energy until she came face to face with her, close enough to feel her breath on her face. Juno tightened her fist, creating a charge of golden light. But before she could use it, Wanda placed a finger to her temple and suddenly she felt herself falling.</p><p>She was standing in the street as cars screeched and crashed around her. People were screaming, children standing alone crying for their parents. She turned around to see Stephen ahead of her.</p><p>"Stephen!" she shouted in panic. "Stephen!?"</p><p>He turned slowly to look at her, and suddenly he began to disintegrate. She took off in a sprint towards him when a voice cried behind her. She stopped and turned back to see a little girl slowly turning to dust.</p><p>"Mommy," the girl said.</p><p>But it was too late. Juno fell to her knees and began to cry, the sounds of people's screams growing louder and louder. She covered her ears and closed her eyes, seeing Wanda's glowing irises in the darkness.</p><p>Focus, she thought. It's not real. Fight it.</p><p>Wanda stood in front of her, forcing her energy into Juno's head. But slowly, she noticed her face beginning to change. Her eyes opened, and within moments, a blast of light sent her skidding across the floor.</p><p>Juno looked down at Wanda on the ground, a mix of pain and anger on her face. She took a step towards her, igniting her fists as if she were about to attack. Wanda threw her hands up, manipulating the air around her and holding her in place.</p><p>"Stop," Juno muttered through the gritted teeth.</p><p>"No," she breathed.</p><p>"Stop," she repeated.</p><p>Wanda rose to her feet, focusing harder.</p><p>"I said <em>stop!</em>"</p><p>Wanda's eyes stopped glowing red and the light faded around her hands, as if she were a candle that had been blown out. She stared down at her fingers before trying to restart her powers, but nothing happened. She locked eyes with Juno who was glaring at her, waves of gold energy pouring from her skin and travelling through the air towards her.</p><p>Everything went quiet. Eerily still like a battlefield after a war. Juno's light faded. She stood quietly, her chest rising and falling, her short hair sticking to her face with sweat.</p><p>"What did you just do?" said Wanda, her voice was low and intense.</p><p>"I just wanted you to stop," she replied quietly.</p><p>"You just... blocked my powers..."</p><p>"I..."</p><p>*</p><p>Stephen stood on the porch of a modest house on a suburban street. He tapped his knuckles on the door and waited with with his hands behind his back.</p><p>The door opened with a click and a creak. He recognised the man on the other side - he was old and grey, but his eyes hadn't changed.</p><p>"Captain," Stephen nodded.</p><p>"Doctor Strange," he replied. "Didn't think I'd ever see you again."</p><p>...</p><p>The living room was light and airy with dated wallpaper and comfortable furniture. On the mantelpiece were framed photographs of Steve and his late wife. Stephen remained standing as Steve sat down in an armchair.</p><p>"I am so sorry for imposing on you like this," said Stephen. "I just... I was hoping I could ask some questions... about when you went back in time to return the infinity stones."</p><p>"Is this about the girl on the news?" Steve replied.</p><p>He paused. "Yes."</p><p>"What do you wanna know?"</p><p>"What happened when you went back to New York in 2012?"</p><p>Steve furrowed his brow, the wrinkles around his eyes filled with confusion. "Nothing happened. I put the stones back and I left."</p><p>"Nothing happened?"</p><p>"No. I put the Space Stone back in the tesseract, the Mind Stone in the sceptre, then I gave the Time Stone to a bald lady on the roof of your place."</p><p>Stephen sat quietly for a moment, his mind racing to try and make sense of what he was saying.</p><p>"Why?" Steve continued. "Was there a problem?"</p><p>"The woman is from 2012. She turned up at my door with the Mind Stone stuck in her neck."</p><p>"What? How is that possible?"</p><p>"When you were travelling through time, did you experience anything odd? Did anything feel... off?"</p><p>"No." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Strange, I don't know what to tell you."</p><p>*</p><p>A space ship landed on the roof of the sanctum. Juno and Wanda stood together and watched as the engine cut out and the door opened with a hiss of steam.</p><p>Juno watched with suspicion as a tall, muscular man with blonde shaggy hair stepped out. Behind him, another man in a leather jacket followed.</p><p>"Wanda," the blonde man said as he walked towards them.</p><p>"Thor," she replied with a smile and a nod.</p><p>"Quill," the other man said, pointing to himself.</p><p>"So this is the one causing all the trouble," said Thor as he looked down at Juno.</p><p>She looked up at him with a slight smile. His demeanour was calm and laid back, but his presence was strong and intimidating.</p><p>"Thank you for coming," said Wanda.</p><p>Suddenly, a powerful ball of light fell from the sky, crashing into the roof like a meteor. Juno jumped in fright, staring in awe as a woman dressed in strange armour straightened her back.</p><p>"Ah, it's the powerful one," said Thor. "Good to see you."</p><p>The woman nodded at him with a slight smirk.</p><p>"Hello?" a voice echoed from the street below.</p><p>Thor walked to the edge of the roof and looked down. He opened his arms and smiled.</p><p>"Spider boy!" he shouted.</p><p>"...man," the voice replied.</p><p>...</p><p>They stood in the hall at the back of the sanctum, the evidence of the fight still visible in the broken furniture and scorched walls. Juno stood opposite Wanda and the three visitors, shrinking in on herself as they eyed her curiously.</p><p>"So..." she said awkwardly.</p><p>"Juno, this is Thor, Carol, and Peter," said Wanda. "Three of the most powerful Avengers-"</p><p>Quill cleared his throat as he stood at the edge of the room. "I'm powerful too," he said. "But she, uh, she only needed three people so..."</p><p>"Why don't you go and wait in the ship," said Thor.</p><p>Quill glared at him.</p><p>"Anyway..." said Wanda. "I want to see what you can do against powers that <em>don't</em> come from the mind stone."</p><p>Juno scanned the three of them; Carol in her red and blue armour, Peter in his skin-tight suit, Thor in his cape.</p><p>"Where do you all get your costumes?" she asked.</p><p>"It's... not a costume," said Thor as he stood with his hands on his hips, a smile on his face.</p><p>"Mine's kind of a costume," said Peter with a shrug.</p><p>"You don't need special clothes to use your powers," said Wanda.</p><p>She nodded as she looked down at herself before brushing her hair out of her face and exhaling slowly.</p><p>"Alright," she said. "Who's first?"</p><p>Peter stepped forward, his mask materialising over his face. He rolled his shoulders and tilted his head from side-to-side.</p><p>"Hey," he said chirpily.</p><p>"Hi," she replied. "So what do <em>you</em> do?"</p><p>"This," he said before shooting a stream of webbing at the chandelier and swinging up, hanging upside down from the ceiling.</p><p>"Awesome," she replied plainly.</p><p>"Remember," said Wanda. "Don't rely on your power. Use your mind."</p><p>She nodded, never taking her eyes off him.</p><p>The others moved aside, waiting for one of them to make the first move.</p><p>"She told me not to go easy on you," said Peter.</p><p>"Why doesn't that surprise me?"</p><p>He shot two webs at her, catching her by both ankles and pulling them from under her. She fell hard on her back, looking up as he swung across the room and dropped to floor.</p><p>She lit up her hands and burned through the webbings, releasing herself and standing up quickly. She sent a blast towards him. He avoided it quickly, moving with a quick, sharp agility that dodged every blast she sent his way.</p><p>He flew over her head and landed behind her, grabbing her by the shoulder to pull her back. As his hand connected with her, her eyes began to glow, an image appearing in her head - a memory that wasn't her own. It was Peter sitting at his desk, mixing his web liquid and pouring it into the cartridges in his suit.</p><p>She raised an eyebrow before struggling out of his grasp. She turned to face him, holding up a glowing hand and turning her fingers delicately. Peter pointed his wrist at the wall and shot a web.</p><p>"I didn't mean to do that," he shouted.</p><p>Juno moved her other hand, directing him to shoot another web and stick it to the floor.</p><p>"Didn't mean to do that either," he shouted again.</p><p>She curved her hands, controlling him like a puppet and watching as he bounced around the room tangling himself in his own webs.</p><p>He lay on the floor wrapped up tight as Juno stood above him and smiled. His mask disappeared, revealing his hot, flustered face.</p><p>Thor stepped up next, smiling at her with squinted eyes. "I'll try not to hurt you," he said.</p><p>She breathed out a laugh. "Thanks," she said before eyeing him up and down. "So what's <em>your</em> thing?"</p><p>He extended his arms as his eyes cast over with a blue light. The sky outside the windows turned dark and grey as lightning began to strike around the building. She looked around in awe, suddenly feeling a little more frightened of him.</p><p>He stopped. The sky slowly cleared, the sun beginning to pour through the windows again.</p><p>"God of Thunder," he said.</p><p>"A <em>god</em>. Interesting."</p><p>"Yeah, it's actually quite funny. You see, that stone you have in your neck used to be in my brother Loki's sceptre."</p><p>"Loki?"</p><p>"Mhm. He's dead now, very sad. But when he had that sceptre," he pointed in the air and gave a reminiscent laugh. "Of course he did a lot of terrible things with it - mind control, murder, you know..."</p><p>"Of course..." she replied.</p><p>"But oh the tricks he used to play with that thing."</p><p>"Tricks?"</p><p>"He would duplicate himself, project himself - I can't tell you the amount of times I tried to hit him and it turned out he wasn't actually there. Oh and this one time, he transfigured himself to look like our father. Spent years ruling over Asgard and nobody had a clue," he laughed again.</p><p>Juno thought for a moment. "Can you show me?"</p><p>"Show you... how?"</p><p>"Picture it in your head. Let me see."</p><p>"Alright?"</p><p>She placed her hand on his forehead and closed her eyes. Watching as an old man with an eyepatch transformed into a young, svelte man with slick dark hair. He grinned mischievously and she let go of Thor.</p><p>"Can we speed this up, please?" Quill interrupted. "Kinda got a spaceship parked in plain view up there."</p><p>Thor cracked his knuckles. "Alright," he said.</p><p>She watched him with a raised brow as he held up his hand. It looked as if he were offering her a high five, but after a moment, she heard a metallic whoosh behind her. She ducked instinctively, feeling something pass over her head. When she looked up, he was holding a large hammer in one hand and an axe in the other.</p><p>"Oh no," she whispered under her breath as he began running at her.</p><p>She kindled her forcefield moments before he swung at her, connecting the hammer with her stomach. She soared backwards and hit the wall, feeling the light flickering as if it were malfunctioning. She held out her hands in panic, picking up everything in the room with her power and directing it towards him. Every ornament, wall decoration and piece of furniture piled onto him, giving her a chance to climb to her feet.</p><p>Thor pushed everything off him and bound towards her, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground. She hung in his grasp as she concentrated the light into the palms of her hands. She wrapped them around his forearm in an attempt to burn him. But nothing happened.</p><p>"I'm a God, remember," he said. "Do you surrender?"</p><p>Suddenly, Juno's face began to change, and within moments, Thor found himself holding Loki by the throat.</p><p>"Brother," Loki said, his eyes wide and full of fear. "Why are you doing this to me?"</p><p>Thor yelled in fright and threw him to the ground, almost hyperventilating as he stepped backwards. Juno returned back to herself. She placed a hand around her neck, nursing the ache.</p><p>"Sorry," she croaked.</p><p>Next, it was Carol's turn. She approached her with a half smile, standing opposite her with her hands on her hips.</p><p>"So...”</p><p>"Carol."</p><p>"Carol. What's your power?" asked Juno.</p><p>"I'm not gonna tell you that," she said, almost flirtatiously. "You think a bad guy's gonna give you an itemised list of everything they can do before they attack?"</p><p>"Fair enough."</p><p>They began their battle. Light bounced around the room, smashing things and destroying the walls. Juno found herself on her back with Carol on top of her, punching her repeatedly in the face.</p><p>Wanda stood nearby with a look of concern on her face. She wondered if she should step in and stop it, if it had gone too far and Carol was too powerful.</p><p>"Stop," Juno grunted before taking another punch.</p><p>"An opponent wouldn't stop," she replied.</p><p>Juno's body set off an explosion, throwing Carol off her. But it wasn't enough. She watched as she began to approach again, with glowing eyes and light swirling around her arms. She shot the light from her fist but Juno rolled over before it it could hit her, returning her own blast that bounced off Carol's shoulder.</p><p>They entered a standoff, their powers connecting in a ball of sparks. But Carol was winning, her stream of light eating through Juno's as she walked towards her slowly. Juno could feel her powers failing. She let out a scream, as they came face-to-face, willing her to stop - to leave her alone. She lifted her other hand and touched the side of Carol's head. Then suddenly, everything stopped.</p><p>The others watched on in shock. Carol's eyes stopped glowing and her powers disappeared as she fell to the floor with a thud. Wanda ran over to her, looking over her carefully before staring up in disbelief.</p><p>"Is she okay?" asked Juno breathlessly.</p><p>"You shut her down like a computer," she replied.</p><p>"The sceptre could do that," said Thor.</p><p>Wanda looked up at Juno with concern. "We need to get that stone out. Soon."</p><p>*</p><p>Night fell over the sanctum. Stephen stood in the middle of the destroyed hall, assessing the damage with a grimace.</p><p>He took a deep breath and released the time stone from around his neck, conjuring a spell that wrapped a bright green light around his arm. He turned his hand, watching as his surroundings repaired themselves, shuffling, coming back together and settling in place as if nothing had happened.</p><p>"I've seen a lot of things today," said Juno as she stood in the doorway behind him. "But that... was <em>by far</em> the most impressive."</p><p>"I hear you did some pretty impressive things today too," he replied.</p><p>He turned around, his eyes falling on her face covered with bruises and cuts.</p><p>"So you were a Doctor..." she said. "Think you can help me with this?" she pointed to her face.</p><p>"I was a neurosurgeon. It's a little different."</p><p>"Alright, never mind."</p><p>She walked away. He sighed and followed her. "Give me five minutes and I'll take a look."</p><p>She nodded with a grateful smile.</p><p>...</p><p>She carefully removed her jacket and slid off her tank top, wincing as her muscles ached. She sat down on the bed, bringing her knees to her chest and hugging her legs.</p><p>Stephen placed a bowl of hot water on the bedside table and sat down behind her. He soaked a cloth in the water and pressed it against the deep purple bruise covering her shoulder blade.</p><p>She let out a soft hiss as the heat connected with her skin.</p><p>"Sorry," said Stephen. "Hot compress boosts circulation and clears away trapped blood."</p><p>"It's okay," she replied as she rested her chin on her knees. "So did you get any answers from that 'cap' guy?"</p><p>"Some. Not the ones I needed." he dipped the cloth back in the water before placing it on another bruise further down her back.</p><p>She closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. "So I take it he put the stone back where he was supposed to..."</p><p>"Mhm."</p><p>"So what do we do next?"</p><p>"I'm not sure yet."</p><p>They fell into a comfortable silence, the only sound coming from the water dripping from the cloth. He pressed it against her bruises, watching the stone as it glowed beneath her skin.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Five • Crash</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A long table stood in the middle of a large, sleek boardroom. It was dark, illuminated by a projector casting footage onto the back wall. Around the table sat a group of officials in suits and name-badges. Everyone from CIA to ex-Shield members to government leaders watched as a woman with grey hair clicked through slides on the screen, each one showing images of Juno and the devastation she had left behind on the New York street.</p><p>"The unknown subject is now believed to be from earth," said the woman. "Either a mutant or biologically enhanced individual."</p><p>"Do we have any idea who she is?" asked one of the men at the table.</p><p>"Negative. The images are too blurry for facial recognition, but we have a team working on it." She clicked to another slide showing grainy CCTV footage. "She was sighted a few days ago at New York Hospital."</p><p>"Who is that with her?"</p><p>"Doctor Stephen Strange. Ex-neurosurgeon - stopped practicing in 2016 after suffering injuries to his hands."</p><p>"What do we know about him?"</p><p>"He's believed to have an association with the Avengers. He disappeared in the Snap, came back in the Blip and fought in the battle against Thanos."</p><p>"Do we know what he can... do?"</p><p>"No." She brought up a picture of Stephen in his sorcerers robes and long red cloak. "He's been sighted wearing some kind of uniform but we've failed to identify where it's from. We believe he has enhanced abilities; what they are, we don't know."</p><p>"Alright," said a man at the top of the table. He ran his fingers over his eyebrow as he spoke. "Let's locate this Dr Strange and talk to him, find out his connection to the girl. I also want eyes all over New York - in the sky, on the streets."</p><p>"Yes sir," the others murmured as they nodded and began rising from their seats.</p><p>The man turned to the woman giving the presentation. "Any word from the Avengers?"</p><p>"They're still not talking," she replied.</p><p>*</p><p>"This is... Not working," said Bruce with a sigh as he lifted a pair of protective goggles onto his large head.</p><p>"What do you need?" asked Rhodey as he stood with his arms folded nearby.</p><p>"Resources, expertise..."</p><p>"So, you pretty much need Tony Stark."</p><p>"Pretty much."</p><p>Rhodey walked over to a screen, tapping his finger against the slate of clear glass and watching as it came to life with intricate blueprints.</p><p>"What about T'Challa's little sister?" asked Sam as he stepped into the room. "When we needed to get the stone out of Vision's head, we took him straight to Wakanda."</p><p>"Shuri? Mm, I guess I could ask her," Bruce pondered.</p><p>He looked down at the machine he was trying to build, sighing at the tangle of wires and metal.</p><p>*</p><p>In the sanctum, Juno and Wong sat facing one another, each of them holding a set of playing cards fanned out in their hands. Juno placed her cards on the table between them, looking up at Wong with a smirk. He rolled his eyes and threw his cards down.</p><p>"I thought you said you'd never played before," he said.</p><p>"I haven't."</p><p>"Are you using your powers to beat me? Because we agreed no magic."</p><p>"No, I swear!" she laughed. "Shall we go again?"</p><p>He nodded and gathered the cards before dealing them out.</p><p>"Oh, I have another one: what about <em>The Mentalist," </em>said Juno.</p><p>"Isn't that a TV show?"</p><p>"Is it? Ugh."</p><p>"Just because you have powers doesn't mean you need a special name. I don't have one."</p><p>"I know but I just think it'd be cool... Y'know, The Hulk, Spiderman, <em>Thor</em>."</p><p>"I'm pretty sure Thor is just his name..."</p><p>They picked up their cards and began playing again.</p><p>Stephen walked through the room with his head buried in a book. He glanced up at the two of them.</p><p>"What are you betting with? Neither of you have any money," he said.</p><p>"No bets, it's just a friendly game," Juno shrugged.</p><p>"Friendly?" said Wong. "She's beat me every time."</p><p>Stephen looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>"What can I say? It came naturally. I must've been a good poker player in my previous life. Want us to deal you in?"</p><p>"Mm, can't. Some of us are busy trying to get to the bottom of why you're here."</p><p>She rolled her eyes. "Look, if you're scared you'll lose, we could always play something a little easier? Or maybe we could just stack them up and build a house."</p><p>Stephen gave a sarcastic laugh. "We need to find out how you got here and get that stone out of you."</p><p>"So everyone keeps saying..."</p><p>"It's important."</p><p>"Yes, I know. But they're not gonna magically remove it tonight, so... Poker?"</p><p>He closed the book in his hands and sighed. "This isn't a vacation, Juno. Do you not understand the danger we're all in?"</p><p>"No, I understand that perfectly."</p><p>"Really? Because it doesn't seem like you do."</p><p>Wong sat back uncomfortably in his chair, his eyes darting between the two of them.</p><p>"What I don't understand," Juno continued, her tone becoming more irritated. "Is that for some reason, we're attached to each other in a way that transcends all laws of space and time. I don't know anything about myself beyond the fact that I either married you and had your babies, or I died. And you can't even afford me a game of cards?"</p><p>"This isn't some kind of Inter-Dimensional reunion. I don't know you and you don't know me. We never fell in love, those kids don't exist, we've <em>never met.</em> You're here because of a blip, and I'm helping you because it's in my nature."</p><p>"Oh. Oh, well thank you," she said sarcastically.</p><p>He rolled his eyes and turned to walk away. "Don't start with that-"</p><p>"I just want to get to know the person that my life seemingly revolves around, that's all."</p><p>He turned back. "Your life doesn't <em>revolve</em> around me."</p><p>"Really? If I walked out of here right now, do you know where I'd go? Because I don't. I don't know who I was or what kind of personality I had. I don't know what my goals were, my likes, dislikes, memories, experiences. I could have family out there right now looking for me - grieving for me. Everything about me is gone, and all you care about is this thing on my neck and how it's affecting <em>you</em> and what you need to do to put everything right."</p><p>She stood up and walked towards him.</p><p>"I knew your name before I remembered my own," she said. "This me, the me that I am right here, right now... All this person knows is <em>you. </em>And it's exhausting."</p><p>He stared down at her.</p><p>"I'm a problem that you need to fix, a fly you need to swat, a riddle you need to solve. I'm a <em>blip</em> in your life." She pointed her finger into his chest. "But you are <em>everything</em> in mine."</p><p>He remained quiet.</p><p>Her hand began to glow, burning up the cards in her hand. She threw the ashes to the ground and stormed out of the room. "Next time, just play the freaking poker," she said.</p><p>Stephen stood in silence for a moment, his eyes slowly falling on Wong as he sat awkwardly in his chair.</p><p>"That was my only set of cards..." said Wong.</p><p>Stephen sighed and walked over to the table, throwing himself down in Juno's chair. "I'll get you a new set."</p><p>"Stephen, she just wants to feel like she exists outside of you. Right now you're treating her like an inconvenience."</p><p>"This is an inconvenience. This whole thing is an inconvenience."</p><p>"But <em>she</em> isn't."</p><p>"So what? You think I should go and <em>apologise?</em>"</p><p>"I think you need think beyond this situation. You find out why she's here, you get your answers, you get the stone out of her... then what? You might eliminate the problem, but at the end of it, she will still be here." He leaned forward. "She needs to feel like she belongs in this world. The place she belongs <em>may</em> be here..."</p><p>"With me? Will you listen to yourself?"</p><p>"I meant <em>here</em> - in this reality. You know you're being kind of defensive."</p><p>Stephen stared at him, almost scoffing.</p><p>"What is it you're afraid of?"</p><p>"I've..." he paused for a moment, before sighing and letting his head drop into his hand. "I've seen what it's like to fall in love with her. That's not the life I was dealt."</p><p>"You are assuming that <em>she</em> wants that life. Has she ever said she does?"</p><p>"No..."</p><p>Wong gave a subtle smile. "When you arrived at Kamar-Taj, you had to learn to let go of your ego-"</p><p>"You think I'm being egotistical?"</p><p>He shrugged. "What's the saying? If the shoe fits?"</p><p>"You know 'if the shoe fits', but you've never heard of Adele?"</p><p>*</p><p>He walked up the stairs and turned to the large, round window. Juno sat beside it with her knees to her chest, short hair tucked behind her ears, a slight golden glow surrounding her. Stephen stood quietly, watching as her brows came together in concentration. Suddenly, another Juno appeared opposite her, followed by another, then another. She was attempting to multiply herself, but none of the other forms would stick - each one appearing before flickering like a candle and disappearing moments later.</p><p>He walked towards her. She glanced up at the sound of his boots on the wooden floor, the glow around her fading until it was gone.</p><p>"That a new trick?" he asked.</p><p>"I'm working on it."</p><p>"You know, I can do that one too."</p><p>"Maybe we can have a competition," she said, her voice soft yet cynical.</p><p>He sat down beside her. The moonlight shone across her face, casting light on her fading bruises.</p><p>"Your face is looking better," he said.</p><p>"Hm? You think so?" she turned her head from side to side.</p><p>He shuffled forward and reached out, running his thumb gently over the one on her jaw. She sat still as his face got closer to hers, examining her like the doctor he was. He glanced up, their eyes meeting for a quiet, tense moment, before he dropped his hand and moved back.</p><p>"Your, um, your eyes are getting..."</p><p>"Oh, yeah," she said, dropping her gaze to her lap. "The green's almost completely gone."</p><p>He nodded, staring at her for a moment as he forced himself to speak.</p><p>"Juno... You're here because of me, so I have an obligation to you."</p><p>"An obligation, huh."</p><p>"What I mean is... I'm a protector. It's what I do. It's what I did when I was a surgeon, it's what I do here at the sanctum. Finding out how you got here is the only way I can do that. I can't get caught up in something I don't understand."</p><p>"I'm not asking you to get caught up in anything," she replied. "I want your help, I appreciate what you and the others are doing for me. But right now, I can't do anything but wait for people a lot smarter than me to figure this out. I just want to feel human in the meantime."</p><p>"I understand that."</p><p>"I know everybody's keeping me at arms-length - I know they don't trust me, I know they're scared of me." She paused, her eyes becoming glossy. "I'm scared of me too."</p><p>"I'm not scared of you."</p><p>She turned to look at him, her inhuman eyes locking with his. "I feel like you should be."</p><p>"Not until you give me a reason."</p><p>"And if I <em>did</em> give you a reason?"</p><p>He furrowed his brow. "Is that a threat?"</p><p>She thought for a moment. "No."</p><p>"Well, alright then. So... poker?"</p><p>She shook her head.</p><p>He sighed. "You're not still mad, are you?"</p><p>"No. But the cards'll have to wait."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"There's someone downstairs."</p><p>...</p><p>They walked down the stairs together, their eyes falling on the elderly man standing near the front door. Despite his frail appearance, Stephen still found himself stepping in front of Juno to shield her from him.</p><p>"Captain?" he said, staring at him in confusion.</p><p>Steve raised his hands. "I'm not with anyone, I haven't told anyone she's here. I just wanted to see the threat for myself."</p><p>"The threat," said Juno from behind Stephen. "Maybe<em> that </em>could be my superhero name."</p><p>Stephen turned his head to the side. "Sshh."</p><p>"You think yourself a superhero?" said Steve. "'Cause I gotta say, that display of yours in the middle of the street the other day didn't seem very heroic."</p><p>She stepped out. "I'm sorry, who are you?"</p><p>"Steve Rogers."</p><p>"Oh, so you're the 'cap' everyone keeps talking about. I didn't expect you to be so..."</p><p>"Old?"</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>He let out a soft laugh.</p><p>Stephen shook his head. "Steve, why have you come here?"</p><p>"I wasn't entirely honest with you..."</p><p>"What?"</p><p>...</p><p>They sat together in one of the sanctum's many living rooms.</p><p>"When you came to see me, I told you I put the stones back in New York," Steve began as he sat on the couch, his hands resting in his lap. "That was true. I did. But I lied when I said nothing strange happened while I was there." He took a breath. "I started by giving the time stone back to the lady on the roof. I watched from around a corner as Bruce left with the stone, then I went up and gave it right back."</p><p>Juno's eyes were fixed on Steve as he spoke, while Stephen paced back and forth nearby, listening carefully.</p><p>"Then I went to put the other two back. But as I'm going over there, I almost run into my past self, Tony and Scott arguing down a side street because we'd lost the tesseract. I knew that in a couple of minutes they'd decide to go back to the 70's, so I just had to hide and wait it out and I could go and put the stones back after they left." He stared off for a moment, his blue eyes glittering as he thought back. "My past self was holding Loki's sceptre... When a car came screeching around the corner and crashed. A woman was thrown through her windshield - she flew right into Tony, Scott and me, and knocked the sceptre out of my hand. Next thing, both her and the sceptre are gone." He looked at Juno. "I think that was you." He paused "I knew the laws of time travel. I knew that we'd already beat Thanos. That wasn't gonna change. It didn't matter that my past self lost the sceptre."</p><p>Stephen stopped pacing and stared down at him in shock. His face etched with utter confusion. "You didn't think it was concerning that she disappeared with the sceptre? Seemingly into thin air?"</p><p>"I thought the sceptre had killed her, disintegrated her or something. It was weird, but nothing in that time mattered anymore - it was the past and it wasn't gonna change the fact that we won <em>here</em>. I had the mind stone with me so I could still put all six stones back where they belonged. And I did. I wasn't lying about that part."</p><p>"Why didn't you tell me when I came to see you?"</p><p>"Look at me. I'm an old man. I made the decision to leave the Avengers behind, I didn't want to get dragged into this mess."</p><p>"So why now?" asked Juno. "What changed your mind?"</p><p>"I said I left the Avengers behind. But I guess I've always been one at heart. I couldn't live with myself if my lie caused something bad to happen."</p><p>"It makes no sense," said Stephen, almost speaking to himself. "If the crash didn't happen the first time you went back, then why did it happen the second time?"</p><p>"Something must've changed."</p><p>"Or someone must've changed it."</p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Six • Tear</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
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</p><p>"Are you ready?" asked Stephen.</p><p>They sat cross-legged on the floor facing each other in a dark, quiet room. The walls were decorated with a gold filigree wallpaper and lined with deep mahogany panels. It was empty besides a velvet chaise longue that sat beneath a small window, and an end table, atop of which sat a heavy gold candelabra.</p><p>Juno nodded, biting her nail anxiously.</p><p>"Don't tap into my head until I find it," he said.</p><p>"And I'll know when you find it because you'll tell me, right?"</p><p>"Hopefully."</p><p>It had only been minutes since Steve Rogers left. He had asked them not to tell anyone what happened - I can't risk being pulled back into this, he said. Stephen offered to open a portal to his home, save him the travel, but he declined politely before shaking their hands and walking out through the large front doors.</p><p>Now Juno was here, in this room, watching as Stephen twisted his fingers and drew the time stone from the eye around his neck. She waited with bated breath as he glowed green and began to levitate, his face contorting, head turning sharply back and forth as it skipped like a video on fast forward. It seemed painful, she wondered what he was seeing.</p><p>He was seeing New York City - crumbling, destroyed. The streets were lined with rubble and shattered glass, fire hydrants were spurting, smoke billowing from buildings and cars. He stood in the middle of the road, his body glowing green and transparent, as if he were a ghost.</p><p>"Alright, I'm here," he said.</p><p>Moments later, she appeared at his side. Her form was flickering like a broken hologram as she tried to concentrate on staying with him. He looked up, shielding his eyes as a gaping black hole began to shrink in the sky. As it finally closed, he saw Tony falling back to earth, his suit failing.</p><p>He turned around and rose off the ground, his cloak lifting him high enough to see the roof of the sanctum. There, Bruce's large green body sat slumped in a chair, the Ancient One talking to his astral form. Stephen dropped back to the ground.</p><p>"We're in the right timeline," he said.</p><p>A loud screeching stole their attention. They turned to see a bus skidding and flipping over, rolling and bouncing down the street towards a man trapped inside his car. Juno held out her hands to try and stop it, but nothing happened. Instead, the bus flew straight through them as if they weren't there and collided with the car.</p><p>"No," she cried. "Why couldn't I stop it?"</p><p>"We're just spectators here," he replied. "It's like watching a movie and being able to step through the screen; you feel like you're there, but the movie's already been shot and edited. You can't change anything."</p><p>They waited for hours until eventually, down a side street, they saw Cap appear with Loki's sceptre. He walked towards a wrecked car where Tony and Scott Lang sat waiting with a defeated look on their faces.</p><p>Stephen placed a hand on Juno's back and guided them closer. "Alright, any moment now."</p><p>They waited, watching the three men argue. But the crash never came. Instead, they saw Cap hand Scott the sceptre before synchronising his suit with Tony - the pair disappearing seconds later. Scott stood for a moment, talking aloud to himself before activating his own suit and disappearing too.</p><p>Stephen's brows came together. "Wh...."</p><p>"I thought you said this was the right time-"</p><p>"It <em>is.</em>"</p><p>"I don't- I don't underst-"</p><p>Suddenly, there was a shift in the air as time began to rewind around them. People were walking backwards, cars driving as if they were in reverse. Scott reappeared with the sceptre in hand, followed by Tony and Cap who took the sceptre back.</p><p>"Stephen..." said Juno. "What the hell was that?"</p><p>He turned around, looking towards Bleecker Street and noticing a vivid green light in the sky. He hurried out onto the main street as everything stopped rewinding. Things were silent, eerily so, when suddenly a car appeared from nowhere, encased in a purple light that sent it flying around the corner and crashing, just as Steve had said. A woman with short, dark hair smashed through the windshield, her bloody, mangled body flying through the air towards the three men before vanishing with the sceptre.</p><p>"What the heck was that!?" Juno shouted.</p><p>But before she could turn to him, he had already began soaring through the air towards the sanctum.</p><p>He landed on the roof, his eyes falling the Ancient One as she locked the time stone away inside the Eye of Agamotto. Her ears pricked. She turned around with her hands behind her back.</p><p>"Doctor Strange," she said in her calm, regal voice. She looked down at his attire. "Where are you visiting from?"</p><p>"2023."</p><p>"It worked," she whispered to herself, almost smiling with relief.</p><p>"What worked?"</p><p>"You fulfilled your destiny, became our next sorcerer supreme."</p><p>His eyes narrowed with confusion.</p><p>"I see the cloak of levitation chose you," she said.</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>"Interesting. So, what brings you here?"</p><p>Juno hurried up onto the roof, approaching them breathlessly. "Thanks for leaving me down there," she said sarcastically. "It takes real skill to run away from someone who's reading your mind."</p><p>The Ancient One's eyes grew wide, a look of almost-fear on her face as she stared at her. "It's not possible," she said quietly.</p><p>"Stephen," said Juno. "I thought you said we were just 'spectators'.Why do I get the feeling she can see us?"</p><p>"Because she can."</p><p>"You possess a power..." The Ancient One's eyes darted across Juno's face.</p><p>"Yeah." She turned around and lifted her hair, showing the stone in her neck.</p><p>"No, this can't be..."</p><p>Stephen stepped forward. "I just saw you turn back time. I watched you <em>cause</em> that car accident. Why?"</p><p>"All of this is done, Stephen," she turned to walk away. "It can't be changed."</p><p>"I'm not asking you to change it. I'm asking you to tell me <em>why</em>."</p><p>She sighed. "Because I gave away the stone. By the time he brought it back to me, it was too late."</p><p>"Too late?"</p><p>"You were already operating. I had to undo it."</p><p>"But <em>why</em>?"</p><p>"Because the fate of existence rested upon it. If she lived, you would never have become a sorcerer."</p><p>"Hold on," Juno interrupted. "<em>You're</em> the reason I die today?"</p><p>"Not in every reality. In most of them you die without my interference."</p><p>"So this... This is all because of you - the pain I'm in, the damage I've caused..."</p><p>"I am truly sorry, Juno." The Ancient One bowed her head before attempting to walk away again.</p><p>"Wait," said Stephen. "We're supposed to <em>protect</em> people. We don't get to just play god with people's lives like that."</p><p>She gave a shrug and a sigh. "One life in exchange for trillions."</p><p>Juno rolled her eyes. "How very utilitarian of you."</p><p>"She's feisty. I see why she's the one you were to fall in love with."</p><p>"But he didn't fall in love with me. Because you just zapped me out of existence and sent me 11 years into the future."</p><p>"I didn't intend for that to happen."</p><p>"No, you only meant for me to die a slow, painful death."</p><p>"I'm not proud of what I just did, you were never supposed to die by my hand. But it was your destiny to be in an accident today, Juno. Whether you survived or not, you were always going to crash that car."</p><p>"How?"</p><p>The Ancient One raised her hands, creating streams of yellow light in the air. They were moving, travelling upwards like growing vines as she spoke. "In all realities, on this day, you are taken to hospital after a car accident." She made the lines connect into a single point. "In hospital, you are taken to Dr Strange. You fight for your life as he assesses your chances of survival. This is where you either live or die." She moved her hands again.</p><p>They watched as half of the lines turned a stony grey, while the rest stayed yellow as they continued to travel upwards, veering off in different directions.</p><p>"If Stephen chose to operate on you, you would live. If Stephen believed you had no chance of survival, he would refuse to do the surgery and you would die. In the realities where he was destined to operate, I cast out a spell to make certain he chose not to. It worked across all realities except one that my magic didn't reach, and this one." She swiped her hand, turning every line grey except for two. "Your friends popping in and out with their time machine altered this timeline. Meaning I was too late; she was already on your operating table by the time I got the stone back. So I had no other choice but to use it to turn back time." One of the streams of yellow light turned green before slowly shrinking back down and eventually turning grey. "The plan was never to kill you myself, Juno, but unfortunately my hands were tied. I pulled you back through time and brought you to a point where I could cause a crash while emergency services were busy elsewhere."</p><p>Juno felt her knees buckle, her breath shaking as she tried to process what she was saying.</p><p>"Why did she disappear with the sceptre?" asked Stephen.</p><p>"If you meddle with time enough, it will tear - rip, like an over-worn garment."</p><p>"She fell into a time tear?"</p><p>"It appears so."</p><p>"I'm assuming you erased the hospital records."</p><p>"I erased the day completely."</p><p>"And you're behind the creatures that infiltrated the sanctum.."</p><p>"I feared the moment may come when she reappeared. Clearly my fears were correct. I drew upon the forces of the dark dimensions so if she were to ever reappear, they would find her and-"</p><p>"You sent those <em>things</em> after me?" Juno gritted her teeth, the stone in her neck sending agonising pains down her spine.</p><p>"Juno, don't," said Stephen quietly.</p><p>"It's seems as though your will to survive surpassed even <em>my</em> powers," said the Ancient One matter-of-factly.</p><p>"I thought the universe led me to become what I am," said Stephen. "But all this time it was <em>you</em>."</p><p>"I had seen what you could become. The best of us all."</p><p>"You <em>forced</em> me down a path-"</p><p>"I guided you with the best intentions."</p><p>"Best intentions," Juno interrupted, almost scoffing. "I just watched myself get thrown through the windshield of a car."</p><p>She ignored her, speaking directly to Stephen. "This is your destiny. How would the world fair without you here to protect it?"</p><p>He stared at her.</p><p>"You need to leave now," she said calmly.</p><p>"How am I supposed to look at you, now that I know what you've done..."</p><p>"If I'm not mistaken, in your present I've been dead for many years. You don't need to look at me at all."</p><p>"Are you not even a little bit concerned about what tampering with time might have caused?"</p><p>She began to walk away, turning back one last time. "It's a good job you became a sorcerer then, isn't it."</p><p>They fell to the floor of the sanctum. Juno's head was hurting and Stephen's muscles ached, the pair of them staring at each other through the dark, silent room.</p><p>"I was supposed to live," she finally said. "I could have lived."</p><p>He stared at her, breathing heavily, his brow coated in sweat.</p><p>"You killed me," she continued.</p><p>"Oh don't be ridiculous, I didn't-"</p><p>"You killed me, over and over and over."</p><p>he sighed. "Sometimes, as a surgeon, when you're faced with a patient in such a critical condition, you have to make a judgement call."</p><p>"Yeah, well your judgement was wrong. You wanted to protect your 100% success record and it cost me my life. All of my lives."</p><p>"Hey, I didn't do that. In this reality I <em>chose</em> to operate on you, remember? I can't help the fact that she interfered with time."</p><p>"Does that not infuriate you? You were robbed of <em>everything </em>you were supposed to have<em> -</em>  love, children, a peaceful, normal, happy life. You were robbed of your hands."</p><p>He held his hands out in front of him, looking down at the thickened, red scars that ran from his wrists up every knuckle and finger. The way they still hurt, still shook when he tried to keep them still.</p><p>"I..." he began quietly. "I am happy with the life I was given."</p><p>She rolled her eyes and stood up.</p><p>"Look, this is good," he said as he rose to his feet. "It means that you're not some manmade weapon, you haven't been sent here to hurt anyone."</p><p>"No, I'm just a plain old accident. Much better."</p><p>"Juno."</p><p>"Stephen. Do you have even the slightest comprehension of how this feels for me? Doctor Stephen Strange - big, successful surgeon man turns mystic warrior - is so important that we must erase this woman from existence just so we can keep coddling him along the right path."</p><p>"It wasn't just about me. It was about the whole universe. Thanos destroyed-"</p><p>"Yeah, I know, I get it. One life in exchange for trillions blah blah blah. But... have you ever stopped to think about how it feels to actually be<em> that one</em>? Because it freaking sucks." She paced back and forth for a moment, brushing her hair out of her face. "I was unwelcome in this world before, and now that I'm back, I'm still unwelcome. Just now with added zap zaps." She spoke sarcastically as she made finger-guns, shooting small flickers of energy into the air.</p><p>He stepped towards her, taking her by the arms and lowering them to her sides. He looked her in the eyes and took a breath.</p><p>"The Ancient One said we're not supposed to exist in the same reality. Because I needed to become a mystic and I couldn't do that if you survived the accident. But the Avengers messing with time, causing a tear, combining you with the sceptre. It means that you belong here. It means that once we remove the mind stone, you actually have a chance of a normal life."</p><p>She thought for a moment. "So the bitch on the roof created a loophole."</p><p>"You shouldn't call her that."</p><p>"Are you really taking her side?"</p><p>*</p><p>The morning sun rose over New York City, warming what had been a cold night. Juno stood in her bedroom. She was wrapped in a towel, looking down at the messy pile of clothes Wong had stolen from Kamar-Taj. She rummaged through them, pulling out a pair of black pants with brown leather braces. She raised an eyebrow and slipped them on, nodding in approval. They were very possibly men's pants - too long, gathering awkwardly around the ankle. She looked at herself in the dusty antique mirror when an idea popped into her head.</p><p>She snuck out into the hall and hurried across to Stephen's room. Inside was dark, the sun straining to push through the thick, plush drapes. She opened them, letting the light into the room, before sliding open his dresser and sifting through it.</p><p>The door opened and Stephen walked in, his eyes falling on Juno, topless, with her back to him. He immediately averted his gaze and let out a huff.</p><p>"What are you doing?" he asked.</p><p>She pulled out a plain white shirt and slipped it on, turning to him as she buttoned it up. "I'm trying to put together a nice outfit."</p><p>"Using <em>my</em> clothes?"</p><p>"Well I don't have any of my own." She tucked the shirt in and looked at herself in his mirror. "I feel like I wore nice clothes. Something tells me I was a stylish dresser..."</p><p>He furrowed his brow, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.</p><p>She held out a glowing hand, and after a few seconds, a sandy-coloured beret flew over Stephen's shoulder. She caught it and put it on.</p><p>"I also feel like I wore a lot of hats."</p><p>"Good to see you're prioritising the important things."</p><p>"I'm trying to remember who I was before all of this. That <em>is</em> important," she turned to him. "Maybe I was a fashion person, y'know? Like maybe that was my job, something in the fashion industry. Do you think?"</p><p>"Mm, I doubt it. I don't think I'd marry a 'fashion person'."</p><p>"We never got married."</p><p>"No but I mean if we had; I just can't see myself falling for someone who works in fashion. I mean, a neurosurgeon and a <em>stylist</em>? What would we have in common?"</p><p>"That... is kinda snobbish."</p><p>"Sorry. I'm just being honest. I was sort of an asshole back in 2012."</p><p>"Nice to see nothing's changed."</p><p>He glared at her before clearing his throat. "So, fashion? Really?"</p><p>"Yeah, I don't know I just... I seem to know the names of all the different styles, cuts, fabrics, all off the top of my head-"</p><p>"You also knew what utilitarianism was off the top of your head. So, by your logic, that would make you a philosopher," he said sarcastically.</p><p>"You're mocking me, aren't you."</p><p>"No." He chuckled. "Come on, they're waiting for you."</p><p>*</p><p>The group stood around, arms folded, open-mouthed as Stephen explained everything they had seen the night before, strategically leaving Steve Rogers out of his story. Behind them was a wall of windows looking out over the plush green landscape of Wakanda.</p><p>"Why didn't you see what the Ancient One did when you first looked back?" asked T'Challa. He was standing with the others, his arms folded across his royal robes.</p><p>"Because it happened in a do-over," Stephen explained. "A repeat of one timeline. It's like sheets of paper stacked on top of each other - one covered the other."</p><p>"So what does this mean?" asked Sam. "Should we be concerned about this 'time tear'?"</p><p>"It would only be dangerous if the sceptre got lost inside of it. But it didn't."</p><p>"It just got lost inside of me instead," Juno interjected, eliciting a subtle laugh from a few of them.</p><p>"Alright, we think it's ready," Bruce called from across the lab.</p><p>They walked over to a tall, cylindrical machine. Juno looked it up and down fearfully, noticing the heavy metallic restraints inside.</p><p>"For your safety and ours," a soft voice said.</p><p>She turned around to see Shuri standing with a tablet in her hands, the screen illuminating her face. She took a deep breath and nodded before climbing inside and letting them lock her into the contraption. She was upright, her feet clamped in place, her arms outstretched either side. She slid her hands into two round, metal cylinders that locked around her fists.</p><p>Shuri activated the machine and everyone watched as it tilted Juno forward, suspending her horizontally in the air.</p><p>"I have reconfigured the technology I used to disconnect the mind stone from Vision," said Shuri. "However, we are dealing with a biological fusion here. It is not going to be easy."</p><p>"Is it gonna hurt?" she asked.</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"Okay. Cool."</p><p>"Alright, ready when you are," said Bruce as he stood near a large, transparent computer screen.</p><p>Shuri touched her tablet, the machine rumbling to life, before nodding to Bruce. He tapped on the screen, the pair of them beginning to work.</p><p>It began with a burning sensation. Small and manageable. Juno closed her eyes, taking deep breaths as thousands of pin-prick lasers began to prod at her neck.</p><p>"Located the fusion," said Shuri. "Increase power."</p><p>Bruce turned a dial slowly, and suddenly, the sensation wasn't so manageable anymore. She winced, pressing her mouth together until her teeth dug into her lips. <em>They're trying to kill you. </em>She opened her eyes, wondering who had whispered in her ear. <em>They're taking your powers away. </em>She realised the voice was her own. It was inside her head, growing stronger as the pain got worse. She let out an agonised cry. Stephen stepped forward, his face etched with concern.</p><p>T'Challa put his arm out, stopping him from getting closer. "Trust my sister," he said.</p><p>Juno shut her eyes as the voice continued. <em>You could control everything. </em>She could see a face behind her eyelids, a pale grinning face, followed by a blinding blue light forcing its way behind her eyes. <em>Destroy them. Control everything. Destroy them. Control everything. </em>She let out another scream. The mind stone began to spark, the metal around her hands letting out smoke.</p><p>"What's happening?" asked Stephen.</p><p>Shuri buried her face in her tablet. "The stone. It is... resisting. The vibranium is not strong enough to withstand her power."</p><p>Juno's body began to glow with an intense, deep gold light. It was throbbing, pulsating around her as she continued to scream. </p><p>"Turn it off," said Stephen.</p><p>The stone cracked, sending a shattering blast through the lab. Juno opened her eyes, they were a bright, blinding gold, as if she had been possessed.</p><p>"Turn it off!" Stephen continued.</p><p>"I am trying!" Shuri replied.</p><p>"It's gonna kill her, turn it off!"</p><p>Bruce ran towards the machine. He ripped the door off its hinges and grabbed Juno before dragging her out of it. He threw her to the ground before collapsing beside her, panting for breath and yelling in pain. She had burned him.</p><p>After a moment, the light around her began to fade. She took a deep, tortured gasp and sat upright in panic.</p><p>Stephen dropped to his knees. "Juno, are you alright?"</p><p>"Blue lights. B-blue eyes," she stammered. "D-destroy everything. It wants to destroy..." she trailed off, struggling to breathe.</p><p>The machine was ruined. Wires exposed, glass smashed, plumes of smoke rising from the intricate technology.</p><p>Shuri stared at it in shock. "This is not going to work," she said.</p><p>"So what? You can't get it out?" asked Sam.</p><p>"Not with this machine. I am going to need to build something else. Something that can successfully separate her from the stone before it attempts to extract it."</p><p>"How long will that take?"</p><p>"I am not sure."</p><p>"We don't have much time," said Bruce. "The stone is like a ticking bomb. If we don't get it out in time, who knows what will happen."</p><p>"I will do my best," said Shuri.</p><p>Bruce nodded appreciatively. "I'll stay here and help." He turned to T'Challa. "If that's alright?"</p><p>"That will be fine," he replied. "The girl should stay here too where she can be monitored and kept away from the people trying to find her."</p><p>Juno's ears pricked. She stared up at them and began shaking her head. "I'm not staying here."</p><p>Bruce sighed. "T'Challa's right. This is probably the safest place you could be-"</p><p>"I don't care. I'm not staying here." She climbed to her feet, her hands still stuck inside the metal casings. She looked at Stephen. "Tell them I'm not staying here."</p><p>He stood up and rubbed his beard with his hand. "Ju-"</p><p>Her eyes began to glow. "Tell them."</p><p>He felt himself becoming dizzy as the sudden urge to do as he was told came over him. He fought it, blinking it away. The others began shifting on their feet, settling into defensive stances as if they were ready to fight her. She looked around at each face as the stone throbbed in her neck, realising she wasn't scared of any of them.</p><p>"Don't do something stupid," said Sam, shaking his head and raising his shield.</p><p>"I don't want to do something stupid. I want to go <em>home</em>," she replied, making her fists glow and shattering the metal around them as if it were delicate as glass.</p><p>T'Challa took a step towards her, but she didn't give him time to pounce. Instead she raised her hands, directing them at him. Stephen watched on in panic, knowing what was going to happen. He opened a portal beneath Juno's feet, letting her drop into it before closing it quickly.</p><p>"What did you just do!?" shouted Sam.</p><p>"I very likely just saved T'Challa's life," he replied sharply.</p><p>"She's dangerous."</p><p>"She's not dangerous- She doesn't <em>mean</em> to be."</p><p>"She's under the influence of an infinity stone. That makes her one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Pretty dangerous if you ask me."</p><p>"The stone was preying on her fear - She's just... scared."</p><p>"Fear and power can be a deadly combination," said T'Challa, his tone was calm yet commanding. </p><p>"She doesn't want to hurt anyone."</p><p>Sam let out a cynical laugh. "Y'know, I'm getting kind of sick of you making excuses for her."</p><p>"Guys," said Bruce. "Can we stop fighting and just work on getting that thing out of her?"</p><p>They turned around to see him still sitting on the floor, his hands were blistered from where he had touched her.</p><p>"Man," he said as he looked down at the damage. "I hate infinity stones."</p><p>*</p><p>He found her sitting cross-legged in front of the Rotunda of Gateways. She had turned the first door to a view of plush, green valleys lain with wild flowers. The second showed a cave crusted with pearlescent crystals, their reflections glittering in clear blue water. He stood behind her. Staying quiet as she continued to stare at the beauty beyond the doors.</p><p>"I contemplated stepping through one of them and just... not coming back," she said.</p><p>"What stopped you?"</p><p>"This." She pointed to the stone, pausing for a moment. "What if they can't get it out without killing me?"</p><p>"I won't let that happen."</p><p>She turned her head to look up at him. "What if it comes down to saving me, or saving the world?"</p><p>"That would suggest you and the world can't coexist..."</p><p>"I'm starting to feel like maybe we can't."</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Seven • Lights</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The streets were thick with deep grey smoke, their fires stealing oxygen from the air and making it hard to breathe. A symphony of sirens blared around the city, mingling with the sounds of screams and crashing vehicles.</p><p>She stood atop a heap of rubble, her limbs burning, eyes glowing with a terrifying glare. Beneath her lay the bodies of people she knew. Sam, Rhodey, Wanda, Bruce. She looked further down the street. More bodies; Carol, Thor, T'Challa, Peter Parker. They were scorched and bloodied, covered in ash and rubble, their suits damaged and malfunctioning.</p><p><em>It's all yours, </em>a voice whispered in her ear.</p><p>Her mouth curled into a slight smile.</p><p>
  <em>This all belongs to you.</em>
</p><p>A shuffling stole her attention. She glanced ahead to see Stephen standing in the middle of the street amongst the ruins, his red cloak swaying behind him. He shook his head, tears in his eyes, as he looked around at the devastation. He was saying something but she couldn't hear him. She squinted to try and read his lips.</p><p>"What have you done?"</p><p>She didn't respond.</p><p>He took a step forward. "What have you done?"</p><p>She woke in a sweat. Her pillow was drenched, her tank top sticking to her body. She sat up and covered her face with her hands, inhaling deeply through her nose and blowing out a shaking breath. She looked out the window at the night sky before brushing her hair out of her face and climbing out of bed.</p><p>The sanctum was eerily quiet as she walked through its hallways. She padded barefoot along the glossy wooden floors with no destination in mind; she would wander for as long as it took to forget her dream.</p><p>She came to a mirror hanging on a wall, walking up close and tugging at the skin under her eyes - the deep, purple bags that came with exhaustion. Her arms looked different. She cocked her head and examined them more closely, noticing how the skin sat more taught over her biceps, rippled slightly when she tensed. She stepped back and lifted her top, turning to the side and furrowing her brow at the sight of her stomach muscles - she hadn't been able to see them yesterday.</p><p>"What the..." she muttered to herself. But a sound interrupted her thoughts.</p><p>Her head snapped in the direction of the sound. It was a clattering noise, as if someone had knocked something off a pedestal or was trying to clumsily find their way in the dark. She ignited her hands and began to follow it, walking slowly, listening carefully.</p><p>She came to the archway of a room, peering around it and preparing to attack, when she saw him stumbling towards a chair.</p><p>"Stephen?" she whispered, letting her light fade as she made her way towards him.</p><p>He looked up at her. He was breathless, his eyebrow cut and bloodied.</p><p>"What happened?"</p><p>"There was a problem in Oslo."</p><p>"<em>Oslo</em>?"</p><p>"I'm a protector of Earth, not just New York." He sat back in the chair.</p><p>She sat down next to him. "Why didn't you take me with you? I could've helped."</p><p>"You're not a weapon. I refuse to use you as one."</p><p>She watched as he looked down at his hands. They were trembling violently.</p><p>He noticed her looking. "It happens sometimes when I exhaust myself," he said. "It'll calm down soon."</p><p>She hesitated for a moment before taking his hands in her's. He sat quietly, watching as her power wrapped around them. Her eyes began to glow and suddenly, he felt the tremor relaxing, settling until it was almost still. She let go of him and smiled softly, hoping he didn't mind her help.</p><p>"Thank you," he said quietly.</p><p>She nodded.</p><p>"Why are you up?" he asked.</p><p>"Nightmare. I think the stone is messing with my dreams."</p><p>"Banner said the longer it stays there, the more it's gonna affect you. You just have to be strong enough to fight it."</p><p>"Mm. It's kinda hard to try and hold onto who I am, when I <em>don't know</em> who I am."</p><p>"You're Juno."</p><p>She helped him up and they began to walk together, down the hall and up the staircase.</p><p>"I wonder why my parents called me Juno," she said.</p><p>He thought for a moment. "Well, if I remember correctly, I think she's the goddess of marriage."</p><p>She turned to him with an open mouth. "You're kidding?"</p><p>He looked down at her as they reached the top of the stairs, and after a moment, they both began to laugh.</p><p>*</p><p>The midday sun shone through the windows of the Avengers HQ. Wanda's boots echoed against the tiled floor as she made her way into the lab. She stopped when she saw Bruce hunched over a desk, his large hands wrapped with bandages as he tinkered with a small, intricate piece of equipment.</p><p>"Sam said you were in Wakanda," she said.</p><p>"I was, they flew me back so I could pick up some stuff."</p><p>She nodded, looking around curiously. "Are they keeping an eye on her?"</p><p>"Who?"</p><p>"T'Challa and his people..."</p><p>"Oh." He shook his head. "She's not there. We couldn't get her to stay."</p><p>"So where is she?"</p><p>"New York with Strange."</p><p>She folded her arms. "What if she tries to run?"</p><p>"What would she be running from? She wants this to end just like us."</p><p>"Bruce, we've dealt with enough bad guys to know that they don't just give up their power willingly."</p><p>"She's not a bad guy."</p><p>She sighed. "Mm, well I hope you're right."</p><p>Bruce put down the screwdriver in his hand and held up a tiny metal bud, his large finger and thumb making it appear more like a grain of sand.</p><p>"What is it?" asked Wanda as she walked towards him.</p><p>"I've made these," he began, picking up another one. "To play a frequency into Juno's ears that should, if I made 'em right, block her ability to read and infiltrate minds."</p><p>She took one and held it in the palm of her hand. "What would you need this for?"</p><p>"Precaution. I may not think she's a bad guy, but it's better to be safe than sorry." He shrugged. "Can I try them out on you?"</p><p>"On me?"</p><p>"Well I mean, you're the only other person I know who can get into people's heads."</p><p>She sighed. "Alright."</p><p>She sat down and took a deep breath before pushing the buds into her ears. She looked up at Bruce and nodded, watching as he turned a dial slowly.</p><p>She clamped her eyes shut and clutched at her ears as a splitting pain began to spread; it was across her forehead, behind her eyes, in her teeth. She raised a hand, trying to focus on planting a vision in Bruce's mind. But it wasn't working. Her thoughts were scattered, like a radio struggling to find a signal.</p><p>He turned off the sound and she pulled the buds from her ears, pressing her fingers into her throbbing temples.</p><p>"Yeah, they work," she said breathlessly.</p><p>*</p><p>"So how bad's the damage in Oslo?" asked Juno as she sat on the floor in the library, her back resting against a bookshelf.</p><p>"No damage," Stephen replied as he wandered through the rows of books. "I pulled the creature into the mirror dimension. Anything that happens in there doesn't affect here."</p><p>"The mirror dimension... interesting." She sat quietly, playing with a button on her jacket. "So how many dimensions <em>are</em> there?"</p><p>"Too many."</p><p>"Do you have a favourite?"</p><p>He peered his head around a shelf, looking at her with a puzzled expression. "A favourite dimension?"</p><p>"Yeah. Y'know, is there one where the floor's made of trampolines, or where people bleed ice cream or something..."</p><p>He laughed to himself. "Not quite."</p><p>"Well you must've seen enough of them to know which one you like the best..."</p><p>He looked down at her before letting out a huff and rolling his eyes. "Alright, fine, get up."</p><p>She clambered to her feet excitedly.</p><p>He held out his hands, twisting and turning them in a fluid yet precise motion. Juno looked around as the air around them began to change - it was glittery, like sunlight shining on a dusty room. She exhaled slowly - her breath was shimmery too. She looked at him in confusion.</p><p>"Touch something," he said.</p><p>She reached out and ran her fingers across the spines of books that lined the shelf, smiling as a scattering of light escaped from wherever she touched.</p><p>"<em>This</em> is your favourite?" she asked, almost cynically.</p><p>"It's not as impressive in here," he replied.</p><p>She followed him up onto the roof of the sanctum, looking out over New York and up at the bright sky. It was packed full of bright, twinkling orbs, as if the stars were visible in the daylight. Every time they moved, they disturbed the air, creating clusters of glitter that swirled and floated up towards the sky.</p><p>"What is this?" asked Juno.</p><p>"The light dimension. Molecular structures are different here, which makes light tangible."</p><p>"It's beautiful." She looked around in awe. "I can't believe something like this exists and people just have... no idea." She swirled her fingers around, making the air ripple and sparkle. "I don't know if I'm ready to give all of this up yet."</p><p>"Give what up?"</p><p>"The <em>otherness</em> of it all. The privilege of being extraordinary."</p><p>"Shooting light out of your hands isn't what makes you extraordinary."</p><p>"If that were true then you wouldn't be so willing to look past what the Ancient One did. You'd be mourning what we could have had. But you're not. And I don't blame you," she gestured to the view. "Because you have this."</p><p>They sat together on the edge of the roof, their legs dangling over the edge.</p><p>"Stephen, what if I don't want to... remove the stone?"</p><p>"Why wouldn't you want to remove it?"</p><p>She shrugged before turning to look at him. "What if I don't want to remove the stone?" she repeated.</p><p>"Well, I mean, we don't know what would happen. It could kill you."</p><p>"But see, I've stood at the crossroads between life and death before. Except last time, it wasn't my choice which road to take. In the reality where we meet, we live out the rest of our lives together as <em>regular</em> people. But instead, you became a sorcerer... and then I showed up, the host of an infinity stone." She paused. "It doesn't seem like I'm in danger. It seems like I've been given another chance."</p><p>"A chance of what?" He raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"Of life, Stephen. But thanks for the <em>extremely</em> loud thoughts of the two of us doing it..." she said sarcastically.</p><p>He shook his head with embarrassment. "Will you <em>stop</em> reading my mind?"</p><p>"I didn't have to. Your brain practically shouted it."</p><p>Stephen looked up at the sky. "Juno, look." He pointed.</p><p>"What is that?" she asked as her eyes followed his direction.</p><p>"Another reason why this dimension is my favourite."</p><p>They watched the sky begin to move, rippling like waves full of stars. It was as if the sky was made of opal, flashing with flecks of iridescent colours. It was unlike anything she had ever seen as she sat, wide-eyed, in wonderment at the sight. She smiled and turned towards Stephen, realising he wasn't looking at the sky. He was looking at her.</p><p>The distance between their faces grew smaller and smaller. He leant forward and placed a hand on her face, lights rippling and scattering where his fingers touched her skin. She held onto his arm, causing more lights to sparkle and escape from beneath her palm. And as their lips finally met, it was like an explosion of stars, surrounding them in their own, intimate galaxy.</p><p>...</p><p>They hurried through the halls of the sanctum, falling into Juno's room as they kissed eagerly. Stephen raised his hands, returning the pair of them into their own dimension as Juno used her power to close the door and draw the drapes. Her mind was full of echoing, racing thoughts - both of their thoughts. Mixing into one loud, indistinguishable cluster.</p><p>They fell to the bed, ignoring everything they had learned about themselves, pushing the danger aside and coming together like the universe had always seemed to intend.</p><p>*</p><p>Juno felt the bed shift beside her. She sat up to see Stephen sitting on the edge with his back to her. She used her power to open the drapes gently, almost gasping as the sunlight shone on his bare back. Handprints. Red, swollen handprints on his shoulders, on his arms, the back of his neck.</p><p>"Stephen," she said, her voice as soft as a breath. "Your back... I'm so sorry, I didn't even realise I <em>did</em> that."</p><p>He reached over his shoulder and touched one of the marks. "Ow," he said quietly. "I didn't realise you did that either."</p><p>"Clearly I still need to learn how to control my powers."</p><p>He stood up and began to get dressed. She sensed the disappointment he felt in himself when he looked down to see the Eye of Agamotto on the floor - tossed aside as if it were just another trinket.</p><p>"Stephen..."</p><p>He cleared his throat and turned to her, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Can I... ask you something?"</p><p>She nodded. "Sure."</p><p>"What we just did... You didn't, um, did you... <em>influence</em> me?"</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"I just- that kinda came out of nowhere. I don't usually... do things like this."</p><p>"You think I did some kind of mind control on you to make you sleep with me?" She couldn't hide her offence.</p><p>He stood around the other side of the bed, watching as she climbed out and got dressed. "I just meant that I don't act on impulse; I take my role as sorcerer supreme very seriously and what I just did, that wasn't-"</p><p>"Hey," she interrupted, almost laughing in disbelief. "You don't get to use my powers as a scapegoat for your own lust." She buttoned up her pants and placed her hands on her hips. "And I don't appreciate the accusation that I'd use mind control as some kind of mystical rohypnol. It's kind of insulting."</p><p>"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I just-"</p><p>"That was all you. If you wanna regret it, then go ahead. But this idea that I'm head over heels in love with you, that's not coming from me. You've drawn that conclusion all by yourself."</p><p>He rubbed his beard and closed his eyes, sighing to himself. "You're right. I'm sorry, okay. I shouldn't have suggested you did something to me."</p><p>"I think you're attractive and I got caught up in the moment. And I'm fine with that. Let yourself be fine with it too."</p><p>She walked past him, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder as she went. He grimaced, feeling the sting of her handprint on his skin.</p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Eight • Wolfe</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Stephen and Juno walked side by side down the busy sidewalk. It was morning in New York, bitter cold yet bright and sunny as they wore their jackets zipped up to the collar, their hoods up to disguise their faces.</p><p>"Do you even <em>like</em> coffee?" asked Stephen.</p><p>Juno shrugged. "I think so. I mean, I got excited when you mentioned it, so..."</p><p>He stopped in his tracks.</p><p>She turned around, rushing back to him. "What? What is it?"</p><p>"I forgot Wong's order," he replied. "Do you remember what he asked for?"</p><p>"Something frappy hazelnut something?" she said.</p><p>"Eh, if he wanted to make sure I got the right thing, he should've come with us."</p><p>They began walking again, turning the corner and fixing their hoods to make sure they couldn't be recognised.</p><p>"Have you ever thought about looking into the future?" asked Juno, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "Y'know, seeing how this all pans out."</p><p>"There's too many possibilities," he replied as he brushed shoulders with a passerby. "Even if I were to look, we still wouldn't know which one would come true."</p><p>"But you'd know what happens to me, wouldn't you? You could see if..."</p><p>She trailed off, distracted by a row of televisions sitting in a store window. She walked up to them, watching news reports play out across each one. All about her. A couple appeared on screen. They seemed withered and tired, grey-haired with lines around their red, watering eyes. They were holding up a picture of a girl as they talked to an interviewer.</p><p>"That's me," said Juno quietly.</p><p>"What?" Stephen replied as he walked up and stood beside her.</p><p>"They're talking about me."</p><p>"Every news outlet is talking about y-"</p><p>"No. Look..."</p><p>She pointed. They watched as the couple began to hold up more photos as a banner of writing moved along the bottom of the screen.</p><p>
  <em>Mutant involved in New York attack 'went missing during 2012 alien invasion. Believed dead' says parents. </em>
</p><p>"I see they've finally settled on 'mutant'," said Stephen dryly.</p><p>She placed her hand on the glass of the store window, focusing until she could hear the TV clearly.</p><p>"The Queens couple identified the woman as their missing daughter Juno Wolfe," said a news reporter. "They said they were 'shocked and completely blindsided' when they saw her on TV, and are <em>urging</em> her to turn herself in."</p><p>It zoomed in on the woman's face as she cried, talking directly to the camera. "Juno, if you're watching this, we miss you and we love you. Whatever has happened to you, we can get you help. Please put an end to this, come forward. Come back to us."</p><p>She let go of the glass.</p><p>"What is it?" asked Stephen.</p><p>"Those are my parents."</p><p>"W-well... that's good, I guess? It means once this is all over you can-"</p><p>"I don't remember them."</p><p>He looked down at her.</p><p>"I always thought when I heard my last name it'd trigger something inside of me. A memory, a flashback. But it didn't. They said my last name's Wolfe and it doesn't mean anything to me." She looked up at him. "Maybe this means I'm gone. Maybe I'm not actually the same person I was before I got fused with this thing."</p><p>"You were stuck inside a time tear for eleven years, it's normal to not remember-"</p><p>"But I remembered <em>you</em>. I knew your name and where to find you even though I never actually got around to meeting you."</p><p>"You said yourself we're connected."</p><p>"More than I am with my own parents?"</p><p>A commotion further down the street caught their attention. There was a group of men in dark clothes, guns in hands, their faces covered in ski masks. They were running out of a bank, threatening people and smashing their way out of the building.</p><p>"Juno..." said Stephen sternly.</p><p>There was a gunshot - loud and terrifying - followed by the sounds of screams.</p><p>"I'll go," he said. "You stay here. Keep yourself hidden."</p><p>She watched as he strode towards the trouble, his discreet clothes materialising into his robes and cloak. He clenched his fists, creating discs of orange light, using them as shields from the bullets that began raining over him. He fought the gang easily, drawing them away from the civilians and into the middle of the road. Juno watched as one by one he took them down, until a stray bullet grazed his arm and knocked him to the ground.</p><p>She felt her heart stop. "Get up, get up, get up," she muttered.</p><p>But the gunman pointed and shot again.</p><p>Without thinking, she raised her hand, catching the bullet mid-flight in a cloud of golden matter. She marched towards them, twisting her hand and sending it flying back towards the man. It hit him in the neck, knocking him to the ground where he clutched the bleeding wound and writhed in pain.</p><p>She flicked down her hood, her eyes glowing as she used her powers to lift them all off the ground. Stephen clambered to his feet and turned in panic as she approached.</p><p>"Juno, don't."</p><p>The street was crowded with onlookers, but her attention remained on the men hanging in the air. She was angry, so angry that she couldn't think straight - it was as if her body was a car, and the mind stone had taken control of the wheel.</p><p>She slammed them all into the ground, with so much force that the concrete cracked beneath them. Then suddenly, everything was quiet. She looked around at the faces of terror; people huddling together and backing away as if she were going to do the same to them. The men on the ground were completely still, blood beginning to pool around them.</p><p>"Stephen," she said. Her voice was a whisper, a soft, quivering sound that barely left her lips.</p><p>The sound of sirens invaded the quiet, growing louder as the flashing lights came into view. Police cars pulled up from every direction, screeching to a halt as officers climbed out and pointed their guns. Stephen raised his hands in an attempt to create a portal. But he stopped, holding them up in surrender as an officer aimed at him, screaming at him to stay still.</p><p>News trucks and reporters began to swarm the street as helicopters hovered in the sky above them. A set of SWAT vehicles swung around the corner followed by a group of sleek, black cars.</p><p>"I don't understand, I was helping," she said.</p><p>"They don't care," Stephen replied.</p><p>"Clearly."</p><p>"I told you to lay low."</p><p>She glanced around. "Make a portal."</p><p>"They will <em>shoot</em> me."</p><p>"Well then put us in that mirror dimension or whatever."</p><p>"Did you not hear the part where I said they'd shoot me if I try to move? We can't all be bulletproof like you."</p><p>"I'm not bulletproof. My powers are."</p><p>"That could come in handy right about now."</p><p>"I've already done it."</p><p>He looked down, noticing his body surrounded by her glowing forcefield.</p><p>"Ah. Thanks," he said plainly.</p><p>"No problem. Now make the portal."</p><p>He raised his hands again as the masses of men and women began to shoot. But before he could finish, a figure came swinging through the buildings and hurtling into the crowd.</p><p>"Sorry!" a light, energetic voice called out.</p><p>"It's Spider-Man!" A young boy shouted excitedly.</p><p>Stephen and Juno watched on as he bounced through the police, SWAT and government officials, disarming them and knocking them to the ground one by one.</p><p>He shot his web. "Really sorry! No hard feelings but I kinda know these guys." He was speaking quickly as he went. "See, he helped me get home after we got stuck on another planet so I kinda owe him one." He kicked one in the chest, sending him flying into three others and knocking them to the ground like bowling pins. "Oops, sorry!"</p><p>Stephen closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "Oh no," he muttered.</p><p>"Hey man!" said Peter as he landed on the ground in front of them. He turned to Juno. "Scary lady."</p><p>She nodded at him.</p><p>"What are you doing?" asked Stephen in a panic.</p><p>"I saw you on the news! It looked like you could use some help."</p><p>"Stand down!" A voice shouted through the megaphone.</p><p>The three of them turned to see everyone rising to their feet, dusting themselves off and groaning in pain. Down the street, the military appeared, travelling towards them in huge tanks with even bigger weapons.</p><p>"This isn't good," said Peter.</p><p>A strong gust of wind almost blew them off their feet as the rumble of propellors drowned out their voices. They looked up to see an aircraft hovering above them, its door sliding open to reveal Rhodey in his shiny armoured suit.</p><p>"On. Now!" He shouted.</p><p>Peter shot his web at the aircraft and soared up into the sky as Stephen wrapped an arm around Juno's waist and followed, his cloak flying them towards the open door.</p><p>They dropped onto the floor of the craft. Rhodey slammed the door and locked it before turning towards the cockpit.</p><p>"I got 'em!"</p><p>Bruce was piloting. He held up his hand and gave a thumbs up before flying them quickly away from the scene.</p><p>*</p><p>"Are you <em>kidding</em> me!?" Sam shouted.</p><p>He was pacing back and forth across the floor of the HQ, his face twisted in anger. Stephen sat on a stool nearby as Rhodey used the glove of his suit to stitch the wound on his arm.</p><p>"See, I thought it was pretty easy to avoid killing people," Sam continued. "But clearly not."</p><p>"I didn't <em>mean</em> to kill anyone," said Juno.</p><p>"But you know you're not in control of your powers," Wanda replied. "You know you're dangerous and you still went out even after we <em>told</em> you stay hidden."</p><p>"We just went for coffee."</p><p>Stephen rolled his eyes and dropped his head.</p><p>Rhodey scoffed in disbelief. "Funny, I can't recall ever murdering someone and being held up by the CIA on my morning coffee run," he said. "Worst thing to ever happen to me is they get my order wrong."</p><p>"I'm starting to feel like I shouldn't have helped..." said Peter as he stood nearby.</p><p>"No, no you... you did good," Sam sighed. "You bought us time to get there."</p><p>The room fell into quiet as Wanda flicked through news channels on the television. Sam continued to pace while others sat with their heads in their hand. Stephen nodded his thanks to Rhodey as he looked down at his stitches.</p><p>"I mean, I'm no world renowned surgeon..." said Rhodey sarcastically.</p><p>"No, it's... fine. Thank you."</p><p>Juno began to walk out of the room.</p><p>"Where are you going?" asked Sam.</p><p>"To see the big green dude, is that okay? Promise I won't get in the middle of any bank heists," she replied cynically.</p><p>He nodded and let her go. She wandered down the corridor to the lab where Bruce sat programming something into a computer. A large, intimidating machine sat in the middle of the room. She felt a twinge in the back of her neck and reached up instinctively to cover the stone with her hand. She could still feel the faint, hairline crack from their last attempt to remove it.</p><p>"You built this quick," she said.</p><p>He looked up at it and shook his head. "Shuri helped me finish it. We flew it back over from Wakanda yesterday."</p><p>She wandered deeper into the lab, eyeing all of the equipment as if she were on a tour of a museum. At the back, encased behind thick glass was a sleek black suit. It was thin and shiny like Lycra, shaped like a woman with armoured panels over its breasts. There was a belt around the waist lined with empty pockets and holsters. She pressed a button and the glass slid open. The suit shimmered like light on metal.</p><p>She reached out to touch it, her brow furrowing as the fabric rippled beneath her fingers, almost sucking her hand in and rebuilding itself around her skin.</p><p>"Tony was building it for Natasha," said Bruce.</p><p>She turned to see him standing behind her. She wondered how a creature so big could move so quietly.</p><p>"It was one of the only things to survive the wreck," he said.</p><p>She moved her hand across the suit again. "Why does it move like that?"</p><p>"Nanotechnology. It's what most of the guys suits are made out of. Nat always jibed on him for not making one for her."</p><p>"I don't think I've met Natasha yet."</p><p>"Well you won't have."</p><p>"She's dead, isn't she."</p><p>"Yep."</p><p>She closed her eyes and sighed. "Sorry."</p><p>He started walking back to his work station.</p><p>Juno followed slowly. "What happened to her?"</p><p>"She gave her life to save the world."</p><p>"Kind of like what you're trying to get <em>me</em> to do..."</p><p>Bruce looked up at her in confusion.</p><p>"Give up the stone, save the world," she said.</p><p>"You think the world's in danger right now?"</p><p>She gave him a strange look. As if she knew something he didn't. But before he could say anything, the lab door opened.</p><p>"We need to talk," said Wanda. "All of us."</p><p>Rhodey stood in front of everyone with his hands on his hips. They all sat around, listening as he began to speak.</p><p>"Now they know we're involved, they've given us an ultimatum," he said.</p><p>"Who?"</p><p>"The government. The military. Basically everyone." He sighed. "Our choices are hand her over, or be considered enemies of the state."</p><p>There was a rumble of panic around the room as everyone tried to speak at once.</p><p>"W-well, what do we do?" asked Peter, his eyes wide with worry.</p><p>"We hand her over," Rhodey replied matter-of-factly.</p><p>Juno's head snapped around to look at him.</p><p>"Look, I'm sorry but what else are we supposed to do?"</p><p>"We can't just turn her in with the stone inside her," said Wanda. "What's stopping them from turning her into a weapon?"</p><p>"She's right," said Bruce. "We all saw what HYDRA did to Bucky Barnes."</p><p>"So we make it clear that they can't do that," said Sam.</p><p>Wanda folded her arms. "And you really think they'd be able to contain her?"</p><p>"You're talking about her like she's not here," said Stephen.</p><p>The others continued to argue.</p><p>Bruce stood up. "They don't know what she's capable of. The people in this room are the only ones equipped to deal with this."</p><p>"You think that's what we're doing?" Rhodey replied angrily. "<em>Dealing</em> with it? It's been two weeks since she turned up and we're no closer to removing the stone than we were at the beginning."</p><p>"We're closer than the government. Who'll just lock her up like they tried to do with Loki. And look how that worked out."</p><p>"They have no idea about this stuff," said Stephen, he was growing angry, the lines in his forehead deepening as he spoke. "They could barely grasp what we told them about Thanos!"</p><p>"If they come for me, I will kill them," said Juno bluntly.</p><p>He looked down at her. "Not helping."</p><p>"I'm not trying to help," she said. "I'm being honest. I'm not a sceptre or a tesseract, you can't put me in a box and lock me away in a vault."</p><p>Rhodey raised his hands. "Alright, we're not going to be... killing anyone."</p><p>"Hopefully not. But this is my life. I'll fight for it if I have to."</p><p>Wanda and Bruce shared a look, as if the same memory flitted through their minds at the same time:</p><p>
  <em>'We've dealt with enough bad guys to know that they don't just give up their power willingly.' </em>
</p><p>
  <em>'She's not a bad guy.'</em>
</p><p>
  <em>'Mm, well I hope you're right.'</em>
</p><p>"Let's try removing it again," said Sam.</p><p>"It's not ready," Bruce replied. "We put her in that machine now, she won't survive."</p><p>The building began to shake as if an earthquake had hit. Everyone stood up, looking around at each other before making their way to the large window. They stood huddled together, fists clenched, prepared to defend.</p><p>A row of large aircrafts hovered outside as the ground below swarmed with armed forces. They were here for her, and they had the HQ surrounded.</p><p>"Some of us should go out there," said Wanda before turning around to the others. "Find out what they want."</p><p>"We know what they want," said Rhodey, gesturing to Juno.</p><p>"And they're <em>not getting</em> it," Stephen added sternly, making eye contact with him.</p><p>Large guns emerged on the flanks of the aircrafts, pointing at something in the air. After a few moments, the pilots saw people gliding across the sky towards them.</p><p>"Hold fire, it's the Avengers," said one of the pilots into his radio.</p><p>Wanda, Rhodey, Sam and Stephen stopped in the air opposite them.</p><p>"We're here for the girl," a voice sounded through a speaker.</p><p>"We don't have her," Sam shouted.</p><p>"We know that's not true. Release her to us."</p><p>"Or what?"</p><p>"Or we follow our orders, infiltrate your facility and take her ourselves."</p><p>"You don't know what you're dealing with," said Wanda, her hands and eyes glowing a deep red. "We're trying to protect people."</p><p>"That's not the Avengers call."</p><p>"There are more of us inside," said Stephen. "Your men don't stand a chance, so for your own sake, call this off."</p><p>"We are not going to do that."</p><p>Suddenly, the craft in front of them went up in flames before one by one, the others began to explode too. Like dominoes.</p><p>"Strange!" Rhodey shouted.</p><p>Stephen turned his head, but before he had a chance to look, his cloak had tugged him backwards. A large piece of shrapnel flew past him, close enough to skim the hairs on his beard.</p><p>"What the hell was that!?" asked Sam as he flew past them, his large wings gliding through the smoke-filled air.</p><p>"I know," said Wanda, turning to look back the building.</p><p>There was a hole where the window once was. Shattered glass raining down onto the ground below. Juno stood in the empty space, her hands burning, eyes glowing so bright they could see it through the smog.</p><p>The people on the ground began to fire at her, turning the open space into a war zone. She jumped from the building, crashing to the ground and landing on her feet just how she'd watched Carol on the roof of the sanctum. Then she attacked.</p><p>They watched on as hundreds of people and vehicles battled her. A whole army against a single person, yet she wasn't the one losing. She flung people through the air with a flick of her wrist, crushed tanks by clenching her fists. She shot bright, golden blast through the crowds as they charged towards her, all the while walking slowly towards them.</p><p>"We need to stop her!" Wanda shouted.</p><p>"On it," Rhodey replied before soaring down towards her.</p><p>She saw him coming, swiping her hand and throwing him against the building before he could even get close. Then she sensed someone behind her. She turned around and held out her hands, catching Sam mid-air with her powers. He halted still, groaning and gritting his teeth as he tried to break free. She closed her fists slowly, tightening around him before slamming him to the ground.</p><p>"Juno, what are you doing!?" Stephen shouted.</p><p>"They were trying to take me!" she replied.</p><p>He looked down at the devastation, his heart pounding in his chest. It was a massacre. He had made excuses for her, tried his best to protect her, but he didn't know how to justify this. He wasn't sure he wanted to.</p><p>"You have to get her away from here!" said Wanda. "Stephen! Now!"</p><p>Juno was storming across the ground, taking out anyone that crossed her path, when suddenly the ground opened beneath her and she found herself falling. She landed face first on a hard wood floor and rolled onto her back, groaning in pain.</p><p>There was a loud thud. She looked up to see Stephen standing above her. He was breathless, cuts on his face, his skin coated in a layer of soot.</p><p>*</p><p>The Avengers stood amongst the wreck, looking out at the destruction Juno had left behind.</p><p>"It's the stone," said Wanda. "She's... protecting it without even realising that's what she's doing."</p><p>"She knew exactly what she was doing," said Rhodey.</p><p>"But she's under its influence."</p><p>"Then we should get it out," said Bruce.</p><p>They turned to see him crouching, running his hand over the rubble. He was angry, so angry that he was almost scared the Hulk would return.</p><p>"You said it'd kill her," replied Rhodey.</p><p>Bruce rose to his feet, towering over the others as he walked towards them. "The stone is the stone. But <em>she</em> is what gives it power. She is the amplifier, she's the sceptre, she's... the gauntlet. And yeah, removing it could kill her. But if we leave it in there, we're creating a weapon that no army, no magic, no avenger could defeat."</p><p>"She's not a weapon," said Wanda.</p><p>"What do you call this!?" Rhodey opened his arms, gesturing to the destruction.</p><p>"She felt threatened. She was defending herself."</p><p>"It might not be what she wants to do," Bruce interrupted. "But if it's what the stone wants, then it becomes her goal too. So... the stone is coming out. Whether it kills her or not."</p><p>*</p><p>Stephen had crafted a cell. Bars of sparkling orange light surrounded her as she sat on the sanctum floor with her knees to her chest. Since she fell from the sky, Juno had been a prisoner - a prisoner of the mind stone, of her lack of memories, of her connection to him. But as she sat there, encased inside his makeshift cage, she sensed that it wasn't to keep her trapped, it was to keep everyone else safe.</p><p>Stephen was walking slowly around her, rubbing his mouth with his hand.</p><p>"You know, I could break out of this," said Juno.</p><p>"Mm no you couldn't. Protection spell. Same thing I use on this." He pointed to the eye of Agamotto.</p><p>"It was a joke. But alright, nice to know you've really thought all of this through."</p><p>"You think now's the time for jokes?"</p><p>"No. I don't." She rested her chin on her arms which were folded over her knees. "I said I was sorry."</p><p>"Sorry." He almost laughed. "You think you can just say sorry like some kid that knocked over her mom's favourite vase? Juno, you <em>killed</em> people!"</p><p>"I know...." she whispered, her eyes welling up with tears. "I know."</p><p>His jaw tensed as he spoke slowly. "There's only so many times you can say you didn't mean something before it starts getting hard to believe."</p><p>"Well if you tell someone enough that they're bad, pretty soon they're gonna start being bad!" Her eyes flickered like a broken light, as if she were trying hard not to lose control. "Why can you and everybody else have powers and special abilities and all of that stuff and be seen as good? As 'Avengers'," she air-quoted. "But I'm a threat? It's not fair. I want to be good. I can be good."</p><p>"What you just did was not good."</p><p>She dropped her head and began to cry. "I... I don't know what that was. I was scared! They were coming for me and all I could hear were everyone's thoughts in my head and they wouldn't shut up and they <em>wanted</em> to do it, Stephen, they wanted to hand me over-"</p><p>"I wouldn't have let that happen!" he roared.</p><p>She recoiled, falling completely silent as he began to erupt.</p><p>"This whole time I've been on your side, Juno! Keeping you here, messing with time just to find answers, defending you against the others when they said you were dangerous! I've risked the anonymity of this sanctum, of sorcerers everywhere! I've spent time with you, consoled you-"</p><p>"Slept with me." She looked up at him. "Knowing I'd already hurt people. That I had this big, scary hunk of <em>shit</em> in the back of my neck."</p><p>He glared down at her.</p><p>"Don't act like this was a one-sided thing," she said. "I never asked you to go back and find out what happened to me, I never asked you to have Wanda come and teach me how to use my powers, I got in that machine willingly and I let them try to take this thing out, it was <em>you</em> who made them stop because it was hurting me."</p><p>"It was going to kill you."</p><p>"Maybe you should've let it."</p><p>"I couldn't!"</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"Because you're my responsibility!" He walked right up to the bars, pointing his finger as he yelled. "In every timeline where you die, I go on to become what I am. And in the ones where you survive, I don't. You're not supposed to be here! So all of this, the blood on your hands, it's on mine too!"</p><p>"It's not my fault." She stood up and gritted her teeth. "That for some reason the universe keeps trying to push us together."</p><p>"But it's not." He shook his head. "You're not the Juno I was supposed to marry. You're not anything - you're an anomaly!" He clutched his robes. "I became this, so you should be dead. But you're not. Because you're too freaking stubborn to die!"</p><p>She reached her hand through the bars, dragging him through the air towards her until his throat was in her grasp. Their eyes connected in a mix of fear and anger, as she felt his pulse throbbing under her fingers.</p><p>"Are you scared of me now?" she asked sinisterly.</p><p>"I don't want to be," he replied.</p><p>She let go of him.</p><p>He nursed his neck with his hand, clearing his throat and sitting down on the ground in front of her. She sat down too, looking at him through the glowing bars.</p><p>"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have- I don't... I don't think you should be dead, and I'm not scared of you."</p><p>She glared at him.</p><p>"Because I want to believe that there's an end to this for us- for you. The second I stop trusting you, there's no way out." His voice was hoarse. "I just wish you'd stop making it so god damn hard."</p><p>"I have no desire to rule the world. I don't have a vendetta, I'm not on some mission to destroy humanity. I never asked for this."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"But you're out of your mind if you think I won't take down anyone who comes between me and my freedom."</p><p>He felt a shiver run down his spine. Fear. He had just told her he wasn't scared, but as he sat across from her, staring into her eyes as they glowed like the stone on her neck, he wondered how true that was.</p><p>Wong rushed into the room. He was flustered and breathless as he pointed out towards the hall.</p><p>"They're here," he said.</p><p>"Who's here?"</p><p>He walked around the corner, stopping when he saw the rows of people waiting for him. The Avengers - all of them - stood in the hall, suited up. Ready to fight.</p><p>"Hand her over," said Sam.</p><p>He walked forward, stopping opposite them as his eyes trailed from one end of the line to the other. He shook his head slowly.</p><p>"I'm afraid I can't do that."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Nine • Villain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He hadn't seen them all together like this since they fought against Thanos. It didn't feel right standing opposite them; he was one of them. An Avenger in own right, and he was annoyed that they were treating him like he wasn't.</p><p>"I know the government wants us to deliver her to them," said Sam. "But we're not gonna do that."</p><p>"Then why are you here?" he replied.</p><p>"We're here for the stone."</p><p>"You said the machine won't work."</p><p>"Not if the goal is to keep her alive," said Bruce, pausing with regret. "But the machine works..."</p><p>"That's <em>murder</em>."</p><p>"She's no stranger to that," Rhodey quipped, the eyes of his suit lighting up as he spoke.</p><p>"I can't..." Stephen shook his head. "I can't let you do that to her."</p><p>Bruce sighed. "We don't want that either. But at this point, we have no choice. She took out almost an entire army. What if next time it's a city of civilians? Or the entire world?"</p><p>"No. This- you're not... I can't."</p><p>T'Challa stepped to the front. "Why not? Why does your allegiance lie with someone who has proven themselves to be so dangerous?"</p><p>"Because he knows something we don't," said Sam, his eyes never leaving Stephen. "He's looked into the future, he's seen something."</p><p>"No, I haven't. Looking into the past complicated things enough, I refuse to see how this ends."</p><p>"Why?" asked T'Challa calmly.</p><p>"Because he <em>loves</em> her," said Wanda.</p><p>Stephen snapped his head to look at her. "I find it insulting that you think I'd be so easily manipulated by a woman I just met."</p><p>"But you haven't just met her. You're bonded to her through time."</p><p>"That doesn't mean anything, I'm not taking a side here."</p><p>"Then what do you call what you're doing right now?"</p><p>"Going with my gut..."</p><p>"She's proven that she can't control the power inside of her," said Bruce, desperately trying to reason with him.</p><p>"You said the stone would kill her and it hasn't." Stephen shrugged. "I think she has more control over it than you think."</p><p>"All the more reason for you to <em>step aside,</em>" said Sam.</p><p>"No."</p><p>Carol had been standing at the back, listening quietly. She took a deep breath. "Doctor Strange, you have to make a decision. Between one person, and the rest of the world, possibly the universe."</p><p>"When the time comes- <em>if</em> the time comes, then I will make that decision. But right now I don't see why it has to come down to that."</p><p>"Alright, then we're not asking anymore," she said simply, clenching her fist and igniting her powers.</p><p>Stephen threw up his hands in response, the discs surrounding his fists sparking like embers rising from a fire. "We're on the same side," he said.</p><p>"Doesn't feel that way."</p><p>Juno sat in another room, still captive inside the cell. Her ears pricked when she heard a commotion echo through the sanctum; the sound of explosions and crumbling brick, shouting and weapons firing. She stood up, trying to focus herself into Stephen's mind, but there were too many people - too many thoughts overlapping each other and blending in one loud jumble.</p><p>Wong rushed into the room, his eyes were wide but his face creased with confusion when he saw her behind the safety of the glowing bars.</p><p>"What's happening?" she asked.</p><p>"I thought it was you," he said.</p><p>"Not this time."</p><p>He turned to leave, making his way towards the chaos.</p><p>"Wong, wait!"</p><p>He stopped and spun back around.</p><p>"Let me out."</p><p>"I can't."</p><p>"Please. Whatever's going on out there, I can help."</p><p>"I'm sorry, Juno. No."</p><p>He tried to walk away again. This time, she reached out her hand and pulled him towards her through the air until he was close enough for her to touch him. She gripped his arm and watched as a stream of light trailed up beneath his skin and cast over his eyes. It made her think of Loki, the memories that weren't her own; the sceptre connecting with people's chests, their eyes turning blue.</p><p>"Let me out," she said again.</p><p>Wong looked around, dazed and bewildered, before doing exactly as he was told. He took a step back and moved his arms, casting a spell that turned the bright orange bars a deep grey. Then they were gone, disintegrated like ash.</p><p>The fight had burst through the front of the sanctum, leaving a large, crumbling hole where the doors once stood. The Avengers had spilled out onto the street. Each one fighting to get around the barrier that Stephen had conjured.</p><p>Scott Lang shrunk himself down and sprinted towards the building, so small that as he looked up, Stephen's magic was like a galaxy above his head. He got inside the sanctum and returned to normal size, but he stopped in his tracks, almost skidding on his heels when a woman appeared in front of him.</p><p>"Ant Man, right?" she said.</p><p>"You must be Juno," he replied.</p><p>She nodded, tilting her head slightly to one side. "Sorry about this."</p><p>His eyes widened as she held out her palm and sent a blast into his chest. He soared backwards through the air, through the gaping hole in the wall until he landed hard on the road outside.</p><p>He lay on his back and removed his helmet, gasping for the air that had been knocked from his lungs. Everyone halted, turning slowly to see Juno emerging from the building, fists clenched, glowing, angry.</p><p>They charged for her.</p><p>To her left, Sam and Rhodey were flying towards her as Peter swung above their heads. She turned her fingers, manipulating Peter and making him shoot at the two men and yank them back. The three of them crashed to the ground in a tangle of web, she lifted them in a ball of light and threw them into a building across the street. The wall crumbled, windows smashed as the people inside began to scream.</p><p>She looked to the right as T'Challa ran at her. She aimed her blasts at him but he caught them in his suit, sending them back at her with twice the power. It knocked her to the ground and within moments, Carol was on top of her, pinning her to the concrete.</p><p>"I feel like we've been in this position before," said Carol sarcastically.</p><p>"And last time I put you to sleep," Juno growled.</p><p>"That's not gonna happen this time."</p><p>Wanda dropped to her knees beside them and placed her fingers on Juno's temples, letting her deep red power pour into her head. The two women watched as she writhed on the ground beneath them, her eyes glazing over and pulsing with bright yellow light.</p><p>"How long can you keep her subdued?" asked Carol.</p><p>Wanda grimaced like she was in pain. "I don't know. She's too powerful. I don't think-"</p><p>Suddenly, Juno let out a scream, sending a shockwave from her body that forced them up into the air and made all the buildings on the street begin to collapse. Stephen watched on in horror as the two women tumbled down and hit the ground hard. He turned his attention back to Juno as she rose to her feet, rolling her shoulders as if she were limbering up.</p><p>"Hope!" Scott shouted.</p><p>Juno watched as a woman in a dark suit flicked up her helmet and disappeared into the thin air. Scott did the same, the pair of them reappearing seconds later either side of her. She fought them off, battling with them as they continued to shrink down and size up, swarming around her like two irritating flies she couldn't swat.</p><p>"We're distracting her," Scott's voice sounded through everyone's earpieces. "If someone could come and get her that'd be great!"</p><p>"On it!" shouted Peter as he emerged from the rubble of the building across the street.</p><p>"Her powers are like mine," said Wanda. "She needs movement and focus. Restrain her, keep her distracted and she won't be able to use them."</p><p>"Gotcha!" he replied as he bounced through the air before tangling Juno's wrists in webs and dragging her onto her knees. Sam and Rhodey followed, joined by Carol and T'Challa, all of them surrounding her and working together to hold her down.</p><p>"Strange, open a portal to the headquarters," said Bruce as he rushed towards him.</p><p>Stephen was standing in the middle of the street using his magic to hold collapsing buildings in place. People ran out of them screaming, rushing to escape before they fell completely.</p><p>"I can't move my hands away from this," he said. "If I do, these people will be crushed."</p><p>Bruce looked out across the devastation she'd caused. "You still think she deserves your protection?"</p><p>The ground began to rumble as if an earthquake was building, car alarms screeched, water bursting out of pipes in the ground, cracks beginning to form in the sidewalks. A powerful current rippled through the air, knocking Stephen off his feet and halting his magic. The buildings tumbled into mounds of rubble. Some people had made it out safe while others were trapped, shouting for help or crying in pain. He turned around to see her standing there amongst the chaos. Hands glowing, eyes piercing through the smoke-filled air. The others were lying around her, some unconscious, others groaning and bleeding.</p><p>"Juno..." he whispered.</p><p>She didn't say anything, instead she took a step forward.</p><p>"What have you done?" he said, as if he were finally seeing her as a threat.</p><p>She extended her arms out either side of her, and with the slightest movement of her fingers, destroyed everything around them. From buildings to cars, trees and streetlights. Bleecker Street was gone, flattened to rubble.</p><p>He shielded himself from the blast before standing up straight again. Only the two of them remained standing, facing each other from opposite ends of the street.</p><p>"This is what they think I am," she said. "What they were scared I'd do. Might as well let them be right."</p><p>"This isn't you." He shook his head. "This is the stone."</p><p>"I <em>am</em> the stone."</p><p>She recognised the look on his face - he was finally scared of her, even after promising he never would be.</p><p>Bruce grunted as he pushed a heavy slab of concrete off his chest. He sat up, breathless, watching as Juno walked slowly through the debris, the mound on the back of her neck glowing through the smog.</p><p>Wanda dragged herself across the ground towards him. "We're never gonna get her back to headquarters. She's too powerful."</p><p>"Then we need to do it here," he replied, turning to look at her. "I'm sorry to make you do this..."</p><p>Wanda felt her stomach turn, her mouth falling open slightly.</p><p>"You're the only one who can," he said.</p><p>Stephen watched as Juno walked slowly towards him. He knew she wouldn't hurt him. But the mind stone, however, he wasn't so sure. It was like she was gone - no different to any other villain they had gone up against.</p><p>"I told you I wouldn't let them hurt you," he said.</p><p>"I don't need you to <em>not let them</em> hurt me," she scowled. "I've done a pretty good job of defending myself."</p><p>"This isn't defence, Juno. This is attack. It's mindless destruction."</p><p>He glanced behind her to see Wanda approaching quietly, knowing it was time to make that decision - one person, or the rest of the world. He dropped his head, looking down at his scarred hands, the eye around his neck, the cloak curling around his body.</p><p>Juno began to turn her head. Just a moment more and she would see Wanda there.</p><p>"We can run away," said Stephen quickly, trying to keep her attention on him.</p><p>She looked back at him. "What?" her voice was so soft, it reminded him of when she first arrived at the sanctum.</p><p>"Us," he continued. "We can leave. Go someplace where you're not a risk to anybody, where no one knows us."</p><p>"Why would you do that?"</p><p>"Because... because... I love you." He said it like he meant it, the guilt bubbling in his chest.</p><p>It was the first time Juno's rage had faltered, as if she were calming down, softening to the idea of disappearing with him, loving him. She stared at his face, tried to read his mind.</p><p>"I..." She stopped. Suddenly hearing his voice in her head, the first clear thought she had managed to draw from him all day.</p><p>
  <em>I'm sorry. </em>
</p><p>She scrunched her brows in confusion. He was sorry. Sorry for what? Then she felt it, and she knew immediately.</p><p>Wanda stood behind her with her hand outstretched, forcing a stream of scarlet light directly into the mind stone. He cheeks were wet with tears, her head filled with the image of Vision on his knees. <em>I only feel you. </em>She strengthened the force of her power, driving it into the back of Juno's neck.</p><p>Stephen watched on, almost crying too. He never wanted it to come to this, still feeling the urge to protect her, to make it stop.</p><p>The other Avengers began to emerge from the wreckage, shielding their eyes from the blinding light. The stone cracked, releasing a cloud of golden matter into the air. Juno's body went stiff as she screamed in pain, she could feel herself dying, the stone fighting against it. Then everything went dark.</p><p>*</p><p>Her eyes flickered open, heavy and sore as they adjusted to the light. She wondered for a moment if she was dead, but there was a bustling around her, muffled voices and the hum of a machine.</p><p>She was suspended in the air, her arms and legs restrained, the stone sending shockwaves down her spine. She tried to move but she was stuck, tried to ignite her hands but they were encased inside metal clamps.</p><p>The Avengers stood around the machine, watching her through the glass like an exhibit in a gallery. Stephen stood nearby, his eyes glazed over as he stared into space.</p><p>"So," said Sam. "What are we going to do with her?"</p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Ten • Strange</h2></a>
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    <p>There was a ringing in her ears. Running like a current through her head, throbbing behind her eyes. She was writhing in pain but the restraints were keeping her in place, her jaw aching as her teeth clenched.</p><p>She could still hear them talking but she couldn't focus on their voices; couldn't pick out any words or make sense of what they were saying. All she knew was that they were there. They were all there, standing around her as a constant stream of light penetrated the stone in her neck.</p><p>"So how do we do this?" asked Wanda, staring at her through the glass of the machine.</p><p>Her own connection to the mind stone was sending a dull throb down her back, as if she could feel Juno's pain. She tried to ignore it.</p><p>"I guess we just... do it," replied Bruce solemnly.</p><p>"This feels so wrong," she said.</p><p>"It's the most humane way to do it."</p><p>She sighed.</p><p>"Banner's right," said Sam. "You could have destroyed it back there in the street, blew her to pieces, ended it all. This is... better."</p><p>There was a long silence amongst the team, a collective nod and sigh as they shifted on their feet and folded their arms.</p><p>"Alright then," said Bruce.</p><p>He walked up to a large screen and touched it, bringing it to life.</p><p>"Wait."</p><p>They turned to Stephen. He was standing at the edge of the room, his face cut and bloodied, his cloak swaying gently.</p><p>"I want to talk with her," he said. "Alone."</p><p>"We're not taking her out of the machine," said Sam.</p><p>"Then don't."</p><p>"How do we know <em>you</em> won't?" asked Rhodey.</p><p>"I helped you put her in there. I told you when the time came, I'd make the right decision. And I did. You have no reason not to trust me."</p><p>They looked around at each other. exchanging glances, talking without words. He let out a huff and stepped towards Wanda. She watched as he slipped the Eye of Agamotto from around his neck and placed it carefully in her hands.</p><p>"Take this as my word."</p><p>She looked down at it, then up at the others as they watched with confused stares.</p><p>"You can trust him," said Peter nervously. "W-when we were in space, he told Mr Stark he'd let us die before he let anything happen to that necklace."</p><p>"Not a necklace," Stephen added.</p><p>Rhodey rolled his eyes and sighed. "Okay. Alright, fine." He pointed his finger at Stephen. "I swear to god..."</p><p>"I said you have my word," he replied sternly.</p><p>They filed out of the room, leaving him alone with the hum of the machine. He turned his head, letting his cloak soar off his shoulders and wrap tightly around the door handle, making sure no one could get back in.</p><p>Juno's eyes were closed, her head bowed as she hovered face-down in the machine. Suddenly, the ringing stopped, like an easing headache, and her thoughts became clear again. She remained still, listening carefully to the sound of his footsteps as they stopped in front of her.</p><p>"I know you can hear me," he said.</p><p>She lifted her head slowly, opening her eyes to see him on the other side of the glass.</p><p>He took a breath. "Tell me the truth..."</p><p>"About what?" she said quietly, her voice croaky and sore.</p><p>"Back there, was that you?"</p><p>"Who else would it have been?"</p><p>"Juno. This is serious. I need to know if you meant that; if now that it's over you still... stand by what you did."</p><p>"Does it matter? I'm not getting out of here. They're going to take out the stone either way."</p><p>"But-"</p><p>"You lied to me." Her eyes flickered with light, as if she were holding back her powers. "You said you wanted to take me away, keep me safe. But you didn't mean it. You were distracting me so they could put me in here. So they could kill me."</p><p>"No one wants to kill you. But you left us no choice."</p><p>"So just do it. What are we waiting for?"</p><p>"I'm waiting for you to show me that you're still you. I-if I can prove to them that you're not going to hurt anyone else then maybe I can get them to wait, run more tests, separate you from that thing safely."</p><p>"You keep telling them I'm not a threat, yet I keep proving that I am. How can I make you trust me when I don't trust myself?"</p><p>"Because I know you."</p><p>"No you don't. You said yourself I'm not supposed to be here. I'm not the Juno that you fall in love with, I'm not the Juno that dies on your operating table. I'm something else - something that shouldn't exist."</p><p>He rubbed his face with his hand, as if he were trying to disguise the irritation he felt. "Why? After everything you've done to survive, why are you giving up now?"</p><p>She paused for a moment, looking over at the screens of data nearby. "Bruce said if the stone stayed inside of me long enough that I'd die." She looked back at him. "He was right, Stephen. I <em>am</em> dying. Just not in the way we thought."</p><p>He furrowed his brow, shaking his head in confusion.</p><p>"Soon my mind will be gone completely, and all that'll be left is the stone, using my body like a puppet."</p><p>"Do you really believe that?"</p><p>"I don't want to." She swallowed past a lump in her throat, closing her eyes and breathing slowly. "But I don't think anyone's going to want to take that risk."</p><p>"Why did you have to go and <em>do</em> that?" his voice broke. "You escaped death, you had a second chance."</p><p>"I guess my life really did end in 2012," she said. "I just don't think I'm viable for this world. I'm like a zombie - you can take it out of the ground and it'll walk around like it's still alive but no matter what, its skin will still rot."</p><p>His eyes were red and watery, glaring at her with anger and desperation. "I can't let them back into this room, Juno. I can't let them..."</p><p>"Please, Stephen." A tear trailed down her cheek, dripping off her chin onto the metal floor of the machine. "Just... let me do this <em>one</em> redeemable thing. Before the stone takes over again and I start trying to fight my way out."</p><p>He stood there, silent and unmoving, searching for words but nothing seemed right.</p><p>"I'm sorry," she whispered. "You have to let them do this."</p><p>He placed a hand on the glass and rested his forehead against it. "Okay," he finally said, so quiet it was almost inaudible.</p><p>*</p><p>"Okay, everybody needs to leave," said Bruce as he returned to the computer screen. "If the stone breaks while we're trying to remove it, it's gonna let off a nasty explosion."</p><p>Everyone filed out, disappearing from the building in a hurry.</p><p>"I'll stay," said Wanda. "In case something goes wrong."</p><p>Bruce nodded.</p><p>Stephen remained in the room, staring at Juno as she hung in the machine. Wanda stood at his side.</p><p>"Here." She handed him the Eye of Agamotto.</p><p>He took it and hooked it around his neck.</p><p>"You should go," she said.</p><p>"It's still her," he said. "I know you all think she's this monster; just another bad guy to exterminate but she's not. You live with that thing's powers inside you. Why can't she?"</p><p>"I'm sure she could. We just don't have time to sit around and wait to find out." She looked down at the eye resting on his chest. "But you do."</p><p>He shook his head. "I can't."</p><p>"Why not?"</p><p>"Because what if I look into all the possible outcomes of this, and not one of them ends well? What do I do then?"</p><p>She folded her arms and sighed. "Then you'll have peace of minding knowing this was the right decision."</p><p>*</p><p>He paced the floor of the sanctum, the time stone floating between his fingers as he glared at it. He wondered if he'd know when she was gone, if he'd feel it, like a sudden emptiness in his chest. Or if things would simply fall back into place, as if she'd never existed at all.</p><p>Against every odd, across all timelines and realities, she had found him. Survived when even the universe tried to purge itself of her. She was there because of a mistake, but nothing about their meeting felt accidental. He had to know, to be certain there was no other way.</p><p>He put the time stone back in the eye and took his position on the ground, legs crossed, wrists resting on his knees. Green light poured from the pendant and wrapped around his arms, raising him off the ground and seeping into his head. He closed his eyes and began to look into the future, sifting through every possibility, watching her die inside the machine over and over again.</p><p>*</p><p>"Here we go," said Bruce as he turned the dial slowly.</p><p>Wanda shielded her eyes as the stone on the back of Juno's neck began to spark, the lights of the machine penetrating her skin, slicing through her flesh and unstitching the stone from her body.</p><p>She could feel her pain, her knees buckling as she reached out and grabbed the back of a chair to keep herself standing.</p><p>"She's withstanding it!" she shouted over the noise, clutching the back of her neck as if the stone were inside of her.</p><p>Bruce turned the dial to maximum, gripping the screen to stop himself from falling as the room began to shake, tools clattering and falling from counters, equipment toppling over and crashing to the floor.</p><p>Juno let out a blood-curdling scream as the machine began to rattle, the vibranium cylinders around her hands cracking as her bright, golden power threatened to seep through. But they didn't break. Her body felt like it was on fire, the burning she felt in her hands whenever she used her powers was now radiating through her, as if she was going to combust, explode into ashes and disappear completely.</p><p>Wanda could hear her voice, crying, begging them to stop. She covered her ears but it continued. She had infiltrated her mind, trying desperately to save herself one last time. But it was too late.</p><p>There was a loud bang, sparks and smoke spilling from the machine as it began to shut down. The blast threw Bruce hard against the wall and sent Wanda skidding across the floor. The room filled with a yellow glow, so bright they couldn't look directly at it, then a flash of bright green light.</p><p>Suddenly there was silence.</p><p>She sat up slowly as Bruce groaned, nursing the back of his head and looking at the crater his body had left in the wall.</p><p>"Did it work?" she asked breathlessly.</p><p>"I think it did..."</p><p>They approached the machine tentatively, looking inside the ruins for a body, for the mind stone, for any evidence that this was over.</p><p>Wanda used her powers to lift the debris while Bruce waded through it, picking up large, heavy panels and throwing them aside like they were made of paper. But there was nothing there.</p><p>"Did she... escape?" asked Bruce.</p><p>"I don't think so," she replied. "I can't feel her in my head anymore. Maybe the mind stone blew up and took her with it."</p><p>"Would it do that?"</p><p>"It did with Vis. When I destroyed it, he..." she trailed off, closing her eyes at the memory of Vision on his knees.</p><p>"Well, what do we do? Do we just assume she's dead?"</p><p>"I don't think there's any other explanation."</p><p>
  <span class="u">One Month Later</span>
</p><p>They sat around the television in HQ listening as the news anchor spoke.</p><p>
  <em>'A spokesperson for the Avengers has confirmed that the mutant Juno Wolfe was not a product of domestic terrorism. But instead a victim of the 2012 New York attack. The Avengers have extended their condolences to Wolfe's family and say they hope they can finally be at peace.' </em>
</p><p>Rhodey switched off the TV and sighed. "Well there we go."</p><p>The others nodded.</p><p>"I spoke with the board, we're all cleared," said Sam. "So it's back to business as usual I guess."</p><p>"Has anyone spoken to Strange?" asked Rhodey.</p><p>"Wong said he's doing alright," said Bruce. "Back to jumping dimensions and playing with time, I guess."</p><p>"I imagine he's not jumping at the bit to come and see us."</p><p>"Would you? We basically killed his kinda-wife."</p><p>Wanda stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the cloudy blue sky. "He'll be fine," she said.</p><p>*</p><p>Kamar-Taj was tranquil.</p><p>Blossoms fell from trees, dancing in the air on their way to the ground. Beyond the temple walls, children from the village gathered on the busy market street. They were excited, giggling and clapping as the yellow-eyed woman used her magic to make their dolls float.</p><p>She was wearing a thin, linen scarf over her head and a long black dress as she crouched down in the dirt with the children, laughing with them quietly as she curled her fingers and made the dolls dance.</p><p>She felt something change, as if the air around her had filled with a familiar presence. She turned to look at the door, the children groaning with disappointment as she lost her focus and let the dolls fall to the ground.</p><p>She went back inside, walking slowly through the temple as a conversation began to grow clearer. She listened closely, softening her steps as she approached.</p><p>"I told you she needs to stay inside."</p><p>"There is only so much I can do. The woman will not listen to me."</p><p>"Yeah, sounds like her."</p><p>She turned the corner into the room, standing in the doorway and watching him bicker with the other sorcerer. They stopped speaking when he noticed her there. He turned towards her, the flecks of gray in his hair catching in the light, his long, red cloak hanging from his shoulders.</p><p>"Hi," she said.</p><p>"Hi," he replied with a slight smile.</p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Doctor Strange & the Anomaly</h2></a>
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    <p>Thank you so much to everyone who has read this story. If you would like to read part two, it is now available on my page!<br/><br/></p><p>
  <em>Doctor Strange &amp; the Anomaly</em>
</p><p>A dark energy is growing beneath an abandoned building in New York City. Not everyone who steps into it comes out alive. But the ones who do are changed forever.  </p><p>When the Changed Ones begin to wreak havoc on cities across the country, Doctor Stephen Strange finds himself in the midst of a war. A war that forces him to reveal a secret he has managed to keep hidden for almost two years.</p>
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